Committed to Building A Better Community Together.
Amarjit Singh Lalli was born September.6th, 1968 and moved to Kelowna from India in 1975. Though his first 4 years were filled with challenges due to adapting to a new country and many moves, he is now a grateful family man, successful entrepreneur, as well as a highly respected individual member of the community.
At age 13 Amarjit started working at Stewart Brother Nurseries during his summer vacations, an early sign of his hard work ethic. In June of 1987, he graduated from Springvalley Secondary School with great pride. Life had taken a drastic change for Amarjit and his family as just the day after he graduated, his father passed away due to an unfortunate farming accident. After the shocking news, he became the head of the household and had to take on many new responsibilities and jobs trying to support his family. He showed great persistence and did not give up on his vision to further his dream of continuing his studies and growth.
While supporting his family, going to school, working endless hours, he managed to graduate from college with a diploma in Business Administration. Amarjit continued working multiple jobs for years, knowing he would reach his goals through the process. He worked for companies such as Canadian Tire, Wester Star and Tolko Industries. In April of 1997, Amarjit married his wonderful wife, Baljit and have been together for 25 years. Having a passion for farming, they purchased a 20-acre apple orchard in 2003. The following year they built on their entrepreneurship by purchasing a Subway franchise in the Lakeland Plaza. Having great success in the first franchise, they expanded into a second location by the downtown bus loop in Kelowna. To this day, they actively and proudly participate and run both restaurants alongside their orchard and taxi ventures. Amarjit and Baljit have 2 children; their 17 year old daughter, Prabhleen is 20 years old and Balmehar is 23 Years old. Amarjit has been an active and loving community member for over 27 years. Committed to Building a Better Community Together.
A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams.
There is a shared concern of what has become our downtown core and other parts of the city. We have the highest crime rate in the country. It is being fueled by individuals who are struggling with substance abuse. Our catch and release policy has left us with no faith in the justice system. A deep dive must be done into the stats of crime to pinpoint major areas of concern, then target specific areas. There is not only one solution for this issue. You need to break it down piece by piece. A community approach is needed. A minimum 2-month sentence must be served. These individuals would be required to take life counseling classes while living in a structured setting.
A free flow of traffic is essential for a city to function. To address flows, you need to give individuals an alternate route to get to where they are going. We are still waiting for the north end connector. Extension of Burtch or Spall is still in the works. McCurdy Rd to Rifle Rd is finally on the books. We need to extend left and right-hand turn lanes, so vehicles do not block the through lanes of traffic. Adding in one-way couplets could improve flow in our more congested areas.
We cannot say we have to increase transit. The question is how we do that. Ridership will increase if transit is convenient, reliable, and economical. The transit system must integrate with the bikeshare program. It’s not about adding more routes, but instead creating accessibility to existing routes.
Kelowna is becoming Vegas north. As indicated in the crime stats this is also adding to our crime rates. We must bring balance back to our tourism sector. Having grown up in Kelowna, there was a time when families would flock to the Okanagan to experience the Flintstones-theme Park, Wild Waters, Roller Rink, and the go-carts. Increasing the number of youth activities will be needed to accomplish this. I would start with a world class skate park.
Most people aren’t aware that the identity and responsibilities of a farmer have shifted greatly over the last several years. With changing circumstances, we need to make sure policies and procedures are staying current with these changes. Some of the
growing concerns that surround the agricultural community are:
We need a shift in our understanding of the issue. It cannot be culturally acceptable to be out on the streets. My wife and I have recently navigated the support system and it gets an “F.” What we need to address is the lack of communication within the system and its service providers. More money needs to be directed toward family counseling. We need to do a better job of identifying services and their providers. The system must become easier to navigate. When you are dealing with addiction you need time and patience. This city has become so unaffordable that no one has time because they are working longer hours or multiple jobs just to survive. One thing I would advocate for is that all cites with a population of 200k would be required to have a facility available such as the former Riverview Hospital. It would be a partnership between the municipality, provincial government and where possible a university.
Currently Serving as a Director on the following boards.
Responsible for addressing spiritual care needs for staff, families and patients visiting or staying at Kelowna General Hospital.
Packs and markets fruit received from its 430 growers
has been apart of the valley since 1936
Makes award winning cider with 100% BC fruit
Ex director on the following boards.
Mitigates the threat of codling moth to our local pome fruit industry
Area wide program that has buy in from all levels of government,
pome fruit industry and the tax payer
The Society owns and operates the Gurdwara on Rutland Rd
Addresses the spiritual and community needs of the followers of the Sikh faith.
Responsible for all local promotional activities.
Owned by the BC Fruit Growers Association
Identifies and commercializes new fruit varieties
Protects intellectual property rights.
The major supplier of implements for the
agriculture sector created in 1937
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Head Office
1900 McKenzie Rd
Kelowna, BC V1P 1A6
Phone
+1 250 869-6122
