Dave Hayer

Politics

After defeating Doug McCallum, the Mayor of Surrey, for the BC Liberal party nomination, Hayer competed for and was elected as the first Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding of Surrey-Tynehead. The riding includes Guildford, Fraser Heights, Fleetwood, Port Kells and Tynehead areas. Hayer was first elected in the 2001 provincial general election and was re-elected in 2005 and 2009.

Hayer served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism and Immigration from 2005 to 2011. Although he served as a parliamentary secretary he did not make it to be a cabinet minister.

On July 7, 2012, Hayer announced that he would not seek re-election in the May 2013 provincial election. "Part of that decision was that if re-elected as MLA in May 2013, and then leave to run as an MP in 2015, it would have triggered an expensive by-election which would be costly for my constituents & that would have been the wrong thing to do for my community," noted Hayer.

In 2013, Hayer criticized the Liberal government's Quick Wins ethnic outreach scandal.

Hayer's attempt to be nominated by the Conservative Party of Canada for the 2015 federal election in the riding of Cloverdale—Langley City was defeated in November 2014 by Dean Drysdale.

Awards and recognition

In 2002, Hayer was a recipient of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee medal to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Her Majesty's Reign as Queen of Canada.

Hayer was an advocate for accountability for terrorists. On February 10, 2013, Hayer was presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT) for contribution to the advancement of sound public policy on terrorism issues in Canada.

In 2007, Hayer received a Pravasi Bharatia Samman Award from the Government of India, which is annually given to people of Indian heritage that no longer live in India, who have achieved excellence in their chosen fields of endeavour. The award was presented by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India, at a ceremony in New Delhi, India for Hayer's "active leadership in the community, his contributions to public service and for his achievements in government." Hayer was the second Canadian to be presented with this honour.

In 2008, Hayer was included by the Vancouver Sun in its list of the 100 top most influential Canadians of South Asian descent making a difference in BC.

In 2017, Dave Hayer was honoured with the presentation of his 3rd Paul Harris Award on July 10, 2017 by Surrey Rotary Officers.

Education

Hayer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University (1979–1982) and completed Strategic Leadership Certificate from University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Executive Management (2013–2014). He also attended Douglas College from 1977 to 1979 and completed the Tax Course at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).

Business and community involvement

Hayer served as the general manager of the Canadian Accounting Aggregates Public Accountants from 1983 to 1988, following which he joined the Indo-Canadian Times. Before his election to public office, Hayer was a Surrey businessperson, Assistant Publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times, Kwantlen University College Governor, real estate agent, and worked in the restaurant, newspaper, construction, transportation and forestry industries. In addition, Hayer has worked as a labourer in a steel factory and during his teenage years worked on farms, in greenhouses, in a grocery store and even delivered both the Sun and Province newspapers.

Hayer's memberships have included the Rotary Club of Surrey, Cloverdale Royal Canadian Legion, Surrey Board of Trade, the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, Langley Salvation Army Gateway of Hope, Cloverdale Community Association, Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Association. He is also a member of Simon Fraser University’s India Advisory Council, which supports SFU's strategic initiatives in India and engagement with BC's Indo-Canadian diaspora.

Some previous community and business involvements include the Rotary Club of Surrey president (1999–2000); Surrey Community Crime Prevention Society president (1995–96); Surrey Chamber of Commerce president (1996–97); Surrey Board of Trade Governor since 1997; BC Chamber of Commerce District director (1999–2001) for Langley to Vancouver region; Vancouver Board of Trade Small Business Council member (1995–2000); Indo-Canadian Business Association vice-president (1993–2000); Ethnic Press Association of BC director & vice-president (1991–99); City of Surrey Economic Development Strategy Advisory Committee member (1995–2000); South Fraser Child Development Centre Christmas Party chair (1988–2001); and Surrey & White Rock Home Support Association director (1994–95). As well, Hayer created the Surrey Police Officer of the Year Awards and initiated the building of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce (now Surrey Board of Trade) Building.

Dave Hayer currently works with the Dominion Lending Centres. He previously worked with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) as a mortgage advisor.

Personal life

Hayer has lived in Surrey since 1972. He married Isabelle Martinez Hayer in 1981. They have four children: Alexander, Sonia, Anthony and Katrina.