Price Tags is asking every MLA in Metro Vancouver questions about the referendum.
George Heyman, NDP MLA for Vancouver-Fairview:
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How will you advise your constituents to vote on the Transportation & Transit Referendum?
I will urge my constituents to vote yes in the referendum. I will do this despite believing that the BC government should have worked out transit and transportation funding options directly with the mayors, as they agreed to do in 2010, rather than avoiding important policy decisions and hard choices by hiding behind a referendum.
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What is the priority in the Mayors package (if any) for your riding?
Improving transit along the Broadway corridor is a top priority of my constituents, both through improved bus service in the short term and rapid transit longer term. Additional bus service region wide is also important to them (TransLink’s hold on the plan to add 306,000 annual bus service hours has negatively impacted transit riders and real per-capita service levels have fallen over the past five years). HandyDART services have also suffered and additional resources are critically needed for people with disabilities who need this specialized service.
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How do you plan to participate in the referendum campaign?
I will be visibly and vocally campaigning for a “yes” vote, doing my best to reach people with needed information about the economic, environmental and social costs of unrelieved and growing congestion that results from the failure to invest in transit improvements. I will work on this important question with my NDP caucus colleagues as well as the many business, labour, environmental and community people committed to transit improvements.
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Any other comments?
The mayors’ commitment to independent audits and public reporting is critical to assuring people that the tax they will pay will be used effectively, efficiently and only for the intended transit and transportation purposes. Returning TransLink board decision-making to greater transparency and public accountability through significant and meaningful local government representation is an important next step to address public concerns about TransLink’s efficiency.
Five years ago the Liberal government agreed to work with Metro Vancouver mayors to find appropriate funding for needed transit improvements. Our region’s liveability and economy continue to suffer while the Liberals avoid making the needed decisions. We need to begin to correct their neglect now.
