Former New Westminster MLA Joyce Murray toured New Westminster Secondary School with then Education Minister Tom Christensen in January 2005.
During their visit to the local high school, Christensen said ministry staff were working with the district to “identify what funding the district needs” for a replacement school. Murray accompanied Christensen on a tour of the school.
“One of the challenges in my ministry is I have 59 other districts lining up saying ‘me too.’ Joyce has been pushing other ministries for funding (where it’s applicable),” he told the Record more than 10 years ago.
What the politicos didn’t see that day was one of the school’s administrative staff kick a dead rat out of a hallway so the minister toured the aging school.
Ten years later, the timing of a replacement of New Westminster Secondary School still hasn’t been announced.
Murray, however, has been more successful. After serving as New Westminster’s MLA from 2001 to 2005, when she lost her seat to NDP candidate Chuck Puchmayr, has went on to serve as a Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra. Murray, who has been an MP since 2008, garnered 58.7 per cent of the votes in the Oct. 19 federal election to reclaim her seat in the House of Commons.
