Jackie Tegart is the Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly for the are of Fraser Nicola since the 2013 election cycle. Prior to being elected as an MLA, Jackie served three terms on the village council in Ashcroft. She was a member of the school board for 17 years, serving as chair for 15 of those, and was also president of the BC School Trustees Association. Jackie has served as Government Caucus Chair and the Liaison for the Community Poverty Reduction Initiative. She has also been a member of a number of committees, including most recently the Cabinet Committee on a Secure Tomorrow, and the Environment and Land Use Committee.

The HUB Online Network has set up an ongoing interview series with her. In this particular interview Gareth Smart and  and Jackie Tegart discuss several topics including, the recent protests, how she was stopped from first day back in the legislative assembly, the throne speech, the NDP budget for BC. They also talked about what she has been up to, and how she got started in politics.

Talking about the protests, Jackie states “…people are allowed to protest, but when people protest on the lawn of parliament it is usually with permits, and is peaceful.” She recounts her story from her first day back at the legislative assembly in 2020, where she and her roommate did not feel safe enough to go into the building as the protesters were blocking the ramps to get in, and as her roommate is in a wheelchair they felt it was safer to not participate and they ended up watching the first day on T.V. In contrast she talks about how the forestry industry protested, in a manner that gave the MLA’s an opportunity to and discuss the issues in a manner that made everyone feel safe and heard.

She also spoke about the NDP’s proposed budget and tax hikes for things like sugary drinks, yet they have done away with things like the Medical Services Plan (or MSP).

She explained that she is part of several committees, mainly as the critic or opposition to what the NDP has proposed, and she tries to keep them accountable, BUT does work with several people from across the aisle in a civil manner, and quite a lot does get done behind the scenes in those committees.

     Jackie can be found on Twitter (https://twitter.com/tegart_jackie) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tegartjackie/), and on the Hub Online Network.