Moe Sihota
B.C. 55° 0' 4.50" N, 125° 0' 8.79" W Politics and Law Politicians Person
Munmohan Singh "Moe" Sihota (born 1955) is a former Canadian broadcaster and politician.
He was born in Duncan, British Columbia and attended St. George's Boys School, Vancouver, on scholarship. He obtained a bachelor of social work from the University of British Columbia in 1977, was awarded a scholarship to Warwick School of Economics, London, 1981 and a bachelor of laws from the University of Victoria in 1982. He was a social worker in White Rock in 1978-79 and practised law in Esquimalt in 1984.
His political career began during his undergraduate years at UBC:
- Ombudsman, UBC (1975).
- Vice president, UBC, Board of Governors (1977).
- President, Young New Democrats (1978).
- President, Federal Riding of Cowichan/Malahat/The Islands (1981–84).
- Successfully managed election campaigns for Frank Mitchell (1983) and Jim Manly (1984).
- Alderman, Esquimalt (1984)
- Elected M.L.A. for Esquimalt/Port Renfrew (1986).
- The first Indian-Canadian to be elected to any federal or provincial riding and the first Indian-Canadian cabinet minister in a province of Canada.
He served in several cabinet posts under the New Democratic governments of Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh, but was forced to resign from cabinet several times.
During his career, he created 200 new Provincial Parks, extended Workers Compensation Coverage to farmworkers and changed BC logging practices.He also served on the Board of Directors of BC Hydro and Power Authourity, Insurance Corporation of BC, Workers Compensation Board and the BC Buildings Corporation.<ref>www.leg.ca.ca/mla/36thpar/Sihota.htm</ref>