Two veteran Surrey MLAS are in the NDP cabinet.
Garry Begg (Surrey-Guildford) – whom Premier David Ebby introduced as "landslide" for squeaking back into office by 22 votes over Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa – replaces Mike Farnworth as minister of public safety and solicitor general, while Jagrup Brar (Surrey-Fleetwood) is now minister of mining and critical minerals.
Farnworth, who oversaw Surrey's acrimonious policing transition, is now in charge of transportation and transit.
Begg, a retired inspector with the Surrey RCMP, said that when he was a Mountie he'd never imagined he'd one day be B.C.'s public safety minister. "That's not something that was even in my vocabulary when I was a police officer," he chuckled. "I didn't even look at that part of it at all but it's exciting to be here, I'm pleased.
"We're going through a period of transition, at least in Surrey, and we're trying to modernize policing in general terms across the province, so if I have priorities those are the two priorities," Begg told the Now-Leader. "Everything is on the agenda. We have to take a look at the way policing is done across the province. I think that's healthy to do that and yeah, that's one of the things we'll do. Are we doing it right, are we doing it in the most cost-efficient way, are we meeting the needs of the province."
This is Begg's third term in office and Brar's sixth.
"There's a tremendous potential for growth in mining and critical minerals. At this point in time there are 17 new critical minerals projects in the pipeline so a dedicated ministry will help unlock this potential," Brar told the Now-Leader. "These mines will be a huge boost to B.C.'s economy."
Eby named his cabinet during a ceremony in Victoria on Monday afternoon, with 23 ministers, four ministers of state and 14 parliamentary secretaries. Rookies Amna Shah (Surrey City Centre) is the parliamentary secretary for mental health and addictions and Jessie Sunner (Surrey-Newton) is parliamentary secretary for anti-racisim initiatives.
In comparison, Eby's first cabinet in 2022 featured four of six Surrey NDP MLAs including Bruce Ralston (Surrey-Whalley, minister of forests, and minister responsible for the consular corps.), Rachna Singh (Green Timbers) as minister of education and child care, Brar as minister of state for trade and Harry Bains (Surrey-Newton) as minister of labour. That first cabinet also included 23 ministers and four ministers of state. Begg has also served as government caucus whip.
Ralston and Bains did not seek re-election and Singh lost her seat. Lisa Beare is now minister of education and child care, a portfolio that was occupied by Singh.
On Oct. 19, Surrey voters sent four NDP MLAs and six Conservative MLAs to Victoria.
