Cheryl Ashlie has been acclaimed the B.C. Liberal candidate in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding.
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows B.C. Liberal riding association has issued a notice of a candidate selection meeting for Feb. 1 at noon.
It states that Ashlie, a constituency assistant to former Liberal MLA Doug Bing in the same riding, has been acclaimed.
“I’m in. There’s no turning back,” she said Friday.
READ ALSO: Former councillor seeking B.C. Liberal nomination.
Ashlie announced in December that she was seeking the nomination.
Next, she anticipates being involved in helping the party develop its platform for the next election in October 2021.
She hopes part of that will be to seek fair and compassionate solutions to the issues of mental health, addiction and homelessness.
She previously served on the local substance use and prevention committee, which developed 34 recommendations.
Important to her is access to a full spectrum of services, from harm reduction to abstinence models, as well as individualized care.
“One-size-fits-all isn’t for everyone,” she said
Ashlie also wants to address ways to help local businesses remove barriers and build the economy, as well as support environmental issues.
“It is clear – we have to take climate change seriously,” she said.
Ashlie is currently president of the Alouette River Management Society and was formerly a Maple Ridge councillor and school board trustee.
In November, ARMS announced the launch of the Save Our Salmon campaign.
Ashlie said the group will fight Maple Ridge council’s third-reading approval of a 26-home riverfront subdivision on the South Alouette River.
READ ALSO: Former Maple Ridge councillor new president of Alouette River society.
Ashlie was also the 2017 citizen of the year, as selected by the Maple Ridge Community Foundation.
One of the major projects Ashlie helped work on in recent years is Foundry, formerly the Youth Wellness Centre.
The centre provides support to youth and families facing substance use or mental illness issues.
She was a part of the committee that has been able to obtain the services of Dr. Matthew Chow, a child psychiatrist who works in tandem with the centre.
With a referral from Chow, a youth advocate is assigned to the child and family, which includes individual appointments and a Thursday night drop-in time for free.
READ ALSO: Ashlie named Maple Ridge Citizen of the Year.
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding is currently represented by NDP MLA Lisa Beare, the tourism minister.
In the 2017 election, Beare defeated Bing by 1,617 votes.
“I want to congratulate Cheryl Ashlie on her candidacy. She is very well respected and I look forward to debating issues that matter to Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows,” said Beare.
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