Dear Editor:
My view is that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is being given way more credit than is warranted. To me, CTF seems to be a one-pony show, running on a monorail issue of no more taxes at any cost. The silent No majority see other faults with the referendum/plebiscite, least of which is TransLink. When announced, the mayors were right to say the “referendum” was a bad idea for such an important issue. They may yet be proven right.
As I see it, the plebiscite process was, maybe unintentionally, designed to fail, for the following reasons.
It was announced in an election campaign without deep analysis.n The province made it non-binding and insisted on vetting power and made numerous changes without explanation.
The province did not work with the Mayors’ Council to agree on a strong question and funding source. This shows no unity of purpose.
The Mayors’ Council was given insufficient time to mount a credible campaign. I think some of the Yes side justifications to be shallow and at times insulting.
The province, by not campaigning for the Yes vote, is telling us, metro dwellers, that they want it to fail.
The province has been silent on cost sharing. So have the feds.
To the mayors’ credit, they brought Jimmy Pattison on board. However, the job description for Mr. Pattison is wrong, but then, only the province could give the right job description, which is to head an inquiry with wide terms of reference. The objective of the inquiry would be:
To come up with a secure source of funding for metro’s future transportation needs. It must have a formula for changing the funding. This will allow for the cancellation of the other TransLink taxes. This will also fix the biggest stumbling issue — political interference.
To come up with an accountable and transparent organization for TransLink.
To come up with other items the inquiry feels the organization needs, for example, an effective public education plan.
I respectfully call on the premier to put a halt on the plebiscite, then get together with the mayors to appoint Jimmy Pattison and/or other respected British Columbian(s) to head an inquiry. The province, mayors and inquiry chief should work together to come up with the terms of reference and a timeline to set the ship on its proper course.
Unless everybody works together, the plebiscite will fail and British Columbians will be denied the benefits of an effective and efficient transportation system can bring us.
John Consiglio
North Vancouver
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