According to Rayek, who’s seeking the Conservative nomination for Burnaby-Douglas in the next federal election, the party also “has had the distinction of having the most diverse caucus, including the first Muslim Canadian, the first Japanese Canadian, the first Chinese Canadian and the first African Canadian elected as members of parliament. Also, the first woman in cabinet was a Conservative.”

Last spring the Canadian government introduced Bill C-50 for the purpose of reducing the immigration backlog. This issue strikes a personal chord with Rayek, 38, who emigrated from Mexico in 1997 with his wife and two children (a third was born six years ago) and very quickly became a committed community volunteer and successful entrepreneur.

“I think C-50 addresses some of the changes Canada needs by fast-tracking skilled labour in industries that are currently facing shortages of qualified workers,” Rayek told the Jewish Tribune. “I would like to see more bona fide foreign credentials recognized and a system in place to streamline the assessment and recognition of professional qualifications.

“It does not make sense, for example, to encourage doctors to immigrate to Canada and then bar them from practising by not having an established system of evaluation for the skills, training and experience they possess,” he said. “To achieve this objective, it will be necessary to implement a collaborative approach with various levels of government and associated regulatory organizations.”

Founder and president of WeeStep Enterprises Ltd., a Richmond-based designer and exporter of quality footwear for children, Rayek had agreed strongly with many of the policies advocated by the Conservatives, which led him to begin dedicating an increasing amount of effort to the party, culminating in his current position as president of its Delta-Richmond East Electoral District Association.

If in fact he secures the Conservative nomination, Rayek could become the first Jewish MP in western Canada in more than a decade. (The NDP’s Dave Barrett, who was premier of British Columbia from 1972-1975, lost his seat in 1993.)

Rayek believes the government’s objectives for the environment should be realistic. For starters, in his own province he would initiate a cleanup of Burnaby Lake.

Other changes he’d like to see include the elimination of “feel-good” social programs that in his view often do very little to help those in need.

“The Safe Injection Site is a good example,” he explained. “We spend around $3 million a year. The cost for [an] individual is $1,380, and the 500 most frequent users are served at a cost of $13,100 each because they went around 400 times.” The program “serves less than 5 per cent of addicts. That money could be very well used in more and better rehabilitation centres. Now we have up to a three-month waiting list in some. Some people will be dead [from] drug overdose before they get the opportunity for treatment.”

Rayek would support significant tax breaks for working families.

“I was pleased, for example, with the income splitting for pensioners introduced by the Conservative government. All couples and single parents who are raising children deserve a break from the high cost of living.

“Money should be left in the hands of the workers of this country rather than in the hands of government,” he said.