To the surprise of no one, Transportation Minister Todd Stone has told the Lower Mainland's mayors their transit plan is a non-starter if it means dipping into the province's carbon tax to pay for it.
The carbon tax was meant to be an incentive to get people out of their cars - because people tend to take more notice of climate-friendly policies when they are hit in the pocketbook - but what good is collecting the tax if you're not going to reinvest it in building an efficient transit system as a viable alternative?
So we're left with the prospect of a referendum if the mayors want to pay for trains and buses with new forms of funding.
A referendum is questionable in several respects.
The mayors who came up with the plan are already duly elected to represent their constituents.
The B.C. Liberals, more than anyone, should know what happens when you put higher taxes to a vote, as we saw from the HST fiasco. Somehow, we don't think Bill Vander Zalm is going to swoop in and campaign this one to success.
We also note that multi-billion-dollar bridge and highway projects haven't had to clear the same hurdle.
Even though Stone agreed the status quo is not acceptable for a region expecting a million more residents in the next 40 years, he has had nothing to say about what the contingency plan is if the vote fails.
Lower Mainland voters will have plenty of time to consider that prospect as they sit in gridlock or wait for a bus with room for more passengers.
