Jay Krishan
Website: www.nanaimonet.com
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
I have lived in Nanaimo for over a decade.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
I am the Director of the Pacific Society for the Advancement of Employment Equity (PSAEE). The society is aimed at facilitating the creation of a representative public sector by focusing on the removal of hiring process barriers. I have been engaged in the role for two years.
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
I have worked to engage stakeholders in discussions on hiring policies, merit, and barriers to entry and promotion in the public sector for citizens of colour. The City must adopt hiring policies/practices that result in a diverse workforce. Since 2020 I have been urging the City administration to retire hiring policies, practices, and definitions that are impediments to the creation of a diverse workforce. A workforce that is not representative cannot faithfully understand or be responsive to the unique needs of a diverse community. To thrive as a city, this commitment must be seen. I am doing that work.
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
There are various considerations that have prompted me to run. Diversity and inclusion cannot become realized social conditions without representation in public offices. No other candidate has put emphasis upon reforming the City’s hiring policies and practices. University graduates, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and aboriginal persons should have voice in public life. At present, the City does not collect any employment equity data to learn of systemic barriers in its hiring processes. Vote for me to see discussion and reform in this important area. Other areas: commerce, city architecture/design, diversity
What are your top three issues?
I am receptive to many issues, but I consider certain issues to have higher priority.
1. Hiring Process Barriers in the City
It is of high importance that the hiring processes and policies result in a diverse workforce that can faithfully understand and respond to the unique needs of the diverse community in Nanaimo
2. Trade & Commerce
Nanaimo would do well to strengthen inter-modal transportation and build vibrant trade corridors. Business incentives and promotions are necessary to stimulate market conditions for growth and create jobs.
3. Culture & Art
It is necessary to promote this area
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
At a high level, I would like to see the city thriving in four areas: diversity, trade, culture, and inclusive hiring practices in the public sector.
• A vibrant, architecturally innovative port that is built with close and clear mind to environmental sustainability/stewardship and respect for local biodiversity
• A particular prominence of arts and cultural spaces in the city
• Creating strong, distinctive and safer neighbourhood identity, with higher resident engagement and diverse services and projects
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
The city must learn to invest in the positive potentials of job seekers. Employment affects more dimensions of a resident’s life than any other dimension. For any individual, it changes their life course and affects the quality of living in a profound way. I want to bring fair and efficient hiring processes. When Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic (BAME) residents apply to the City of Nanaimo, reasonable and responsible inferences and interpretations must be made about their capabilities, training, and education background to welcome them in. Unnecessary administrative barriers in the hiring process need to be reviewed. This is a big idea with big implications for social inclusion. I will work to create a representative workforce in the City of Nanaimo that can understand the diverse communal needs.
