Locally, here on the western front, Godzilla says we don’t need a referendum on how to raise funding for translink. No big surprise there. Christy Clark announced Monday that any potential revenue sources suggested by the mayors, such as tolls on all roads and bridges, would be subject to a referendum during the municipal elections in November 2014. The move, she said, would allow people to have the chance to decide how much transit they want to pay for.
Three cheers. Christy said something that made perfect sense and she doesn’t have to wait for Godzilla’s approval to put the question on the ballot. Just don’t load the referendum question by saying something dumb like How should we get funding for translink: raise property tax, create a regional sales tax or toll every bridge and freeway under the sun. How about none of the above.
The spoilt brat mayors council needs to stop spending money they don’t have and building new lines to Timbuktu. Translink should be self sufficient. They already get an extra billion dollars a year in extra regional gas taxes. That means something is wrong and needs to be fixed before we pour more money into it. We need to put in turnstiles that actually work and stop giving a million free rides a year. We also need to stop building more lines until the system starts to turn a profit. No private business keeps spending money it doesn’t have.
Godzilla doesn’t want a referendum because she knows a real referendum won’t say the same thing her bogus online poll did that claimed the people want her to raises taxes and toll everything.
Speaking of the corrupt mayor’s council and Translink, if the World Bank has just banned SNCL from World Bank projects for the next 10 years, who gave SNCL the contract for the new Evergreen line we don’t need? Even Pee Wee Herman jumped ship. Doesn't he advise Christy Clark and Stephen Harper?
I think referendums are a waste of time and money. The government is elected to govern and make decisions. The HST debacle is unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI think they gave SNC-Lavalin the Evergreen contract because of their experience in working on these projects. It is better to work with the "devil you know" than to work with the "devil you don't know".
Who screwed up the North Shore water project? The original contractor couldn't dig the tunnel and got stuck half-way so they got replaced by a new contractor. I tried to Google it to find out if SNC-Lavalin was involved - either as the original contractor or the company that saved the day. I couldn't find anything, but I do believe the BC Government is suing for millions of dollars.
Yes but when an elected government consistently does the opposite of what the people want, referendums hold them accountable to the people. Adding a couple of questions to an election ballot doesn’t cost that much extra money. The reform party was big on referendums. Letting the people decide an issue is better than an arrogant out of touch politician who is accepting money on the side from dirty campaign contributors. Giving SNCL the contract knowing how embroiled in scandals they are is shocking. Giving SNCL the contract when Gwyn Morgan was the chairman of the board is a conflict of interest.
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