Miyashiro officially sworn in as MLA for Lethbridge West

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 22, 2025.

Submitted photo - Lethbridge West MLA Rob Miyashiro shakes hands with Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani as he was officially sworn in as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Rob Miyashiro was sworn in as Member of the Legislative Assembly Monday to represent Lethbridge West after winning the riding by-election last month.

“I am very excited about this next stage in my political career, being able to represent my community of Lethbridge West in a different way,” says Miyashiro.

As per what is next on his agenda, he says he has some meetings with Caucus next week as they need to get ready for the upcoming Legislative Assembly.

“And also, just getting used to not being at LSCO (Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization), while working on my new responsibilities,” says Miyashiro.

He says some of his new responsibilities include being an advisor to NDP leader Naheed Nenshi on the non-for-profit sector, so he will be formulating a strategy to work with caucus, and the type of advocacy work he will need to do.

“It is very meaningful to me, because I have dedicated much of my career to working in the non-for-profit sector for a number of organizations and I understand the impact that sector has in the rest of our community,” says Miyashiro.

He says this understanding will help him advocate for organizations and individuals working in that sector and help people understand how government decisions are affecting the work that is done in the non-for-profit sector across different fields.

“It is very broad base, so I need to work with many of our shadow ministers to help them with responses that involve them and the non-for-profit sector, and it is a huge honour for me to be able to help our leader that way,” says Miyashiro.

He says this is something he has been working on for decades, as he spent many years in the non-for-profit sector and his experience, along with the many contacts he has in the sector will help him with his advocacy efforts to move the non-for-profit sector ahead.

“I will be a senior advisor on the non-for-profit sector, and I will be part of his (Nenshi’s) advisory team, which is separate from shadow ministers,” says Miyashiro. “They have direct responsibility to be critical of what is going on in the portfolios they are shadowing and mine will be a little bit broader based, as I look at the whole sector instead of a ministry or a specific department.”

Because of his new role, Miyashiro says he will be going back and forth between Lethbridge and Edmonton, as while the House is sitting, he may need to be in Edmonton for special meetings along with meetings involving provincial groups for his advocacy role within the non-for-profit sector.