2011 Legislative Session: Fourth Session, 39th Parliament

This is a DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY of debate in one sitting of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. This transcript is subject to corrections, and will be replaced by the final, official Hansard report. Use of this transcript, other than in the legislative precinct, is not protected by parliamentary privilege, and public attribution of any of the debate as transcribed here could entail legal liability.

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(HANSARD)

HOUSE BLUES

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2011
Afternoon Sitting

Second Reading of Bills
Bill 11 — Greater Vancouver Transit Enhancement Act

G. Gentner: It's a pleasure to stand here and follow a dear friend and the member for Richmond Centre. It takes me back to the days of ankle white socks up to the jeans and running shoes. The member for Richmond Centre back then, of course, was playing a guitar way back in 1967 at Garden City Elementary talent. I will never forget that. He's come a long way.

Interjection.

G. Gentner: He still does have a little bit of that talent. I'll give him that. Thank you.

This bill…. I would have to say that we're not about to throw it under the rails. It's a bill which we reluctantly have to support. It's a band-aid solution to bad governance, bad public policy, hoisted upon regional and municipal governments and, of course, TransLink, which is a creature of the province.

To set the tone, I want to talk about where we are with this and how we got here from last summer, particularly with the minister. The Lower Mainland mayors that negotiated a plan to use a gas tax to increase it to help pay for the Evergreen transit line to the northeast…. The minister back then, the current minister, said the province would back it. There are other details of which the province was also going to back.

After the meeting, the minister complimented the mayors "for their hard work in coming up with a plan." Goldsmith-Jones told reporters: "It's really great for us to be acting in concert with the minister." I mean, kudos.

But a week after the deal was agreed to, the new upstart Premier basically threw the minister under the bus. In a press conference the Premier said she would veto the gas tax and

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upstart Premier basically threw the minister under the bus. In a press conference the Premier said she would veto the gas tax, and I quote, "When British Columbians say that they're not really excited about paying more gas taxes, I get that. Because my focus as Premier is about how we make life more affordable for people rather than less affordable" — July 11, 2011.

Interesting, a government of flip-flops. It's just more of the same. That is what this bill is. I mean, we can talk about the greater Vancouver transit piecemeal act. They're making it up as they go along because they haven't entrusted local authority with the ability to make up its own governance, its strategies.

You know, we talk about flip-flops. We saw the same thing, of course, with regards to the MSP premiums. The minister of the day suggested to throw it on to cigarettes and, of course, the Premier slapped him or, basically, put him under the bus. The Premier also talked about changes to the senate. She had to recant that.

So we're talking about a tone of flip-flops which we see, basically, introduced in this legislation here today. And I find it rather interesting that the minister here, who is agreeing upon a 2 percent fuel tax, was sitting here not so long ago opposed to the HST, about taxing individuals or the way it was implemented by the then Premier. You know, he knew what the conscience of his constituents was all about, hitting their pocketbook, and he had the wherewithal to stand up. But, obviously, he didn't have the wherewithal to stand up on the flip-flopping of his Premier and this government.

You know, it's interesting. You talk about flip-flops and the HST. I'm really looking forward that this minister can convince cabinet to ensure that when we get back to the PST that sandals and flip-flops will be exempt, because I'll tell you, there's going to be a lot of flip-flops going on between now and then and they're going to need a lot of exemptions.

Maybe I'm making a mistake. Maybe we should not exempt flip-flops. Maybe that's how we'll pay for the Evergreen line — a tax on flip-flops — because that is what this government has become. It doesn't have a direction; it's rudderless. It's making it up as it goes along.

Now, you know, I want to talk about the incompetence, somewhat, of TransLink. I'm not going to hold them responsible for it. A few weeks ago we discovered, through the death of Mr. Kehoe on a bus, that there were no surveillance cameras for buses south of Fraser River. Think about it. For whatever reason, there are surveillance cameras looking for the security of passengers north of the Fraser River in Vancouver, but the old dilapidated buses south didn't get them. The point is this: there's a lack of fairness because of the poor governance that's been put together by this government.

It's also interesting, you know, when the southern routes like Port Coquitlam, White Rock, Surrey and Tsawwassen are left out with no security, yet we find out that there certainly was security in the buses of Surrey when it came to security cameras to look at the drivers, to watch the drivers, see what they're up to. You know, let's put the practice right side up. We've got security cameras spying on drivers, but when it comes down to the security of passengers, south of Fraser, we're not worried about all of that.

It harkens to one reason only: a poor governance model, the lack of accountability. The lack of local government, the lack of the citizenship to have access in how the transit services are done in the province of British Columbia and, in particular, in the Lower Mainland.

Hon. Speaker, I want to talk about governance, and I want to talk about what happened. Because we were here, many of us, a while back relative to Bill 23. We passed it, where we ripped apart the autonomy, that somewhat quasi autonomy that the local government had and where we're going. There used to be a report way back in early, I think it was, 2002, Lidstone, and Young and Company. It was supposed to be the new era of the Liberal government to, shall we say, give the authority away. You know, decentralize it, delegate it. It was a good idea, but lo and behold we come up with Bill 44

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not to give the authority away —decentralize it, delegate it. It was a good idea, but lo and behold we come up with Bill 43, and what they did is exactly the opposite.

What they did is put together a board not consisting of the residents or elected people. Before that, we had a few MLAs that sat on the board. Unfortunately, the government members, the MLAs on the other side, didn't attend, so they changed the model. What do we have? The Institute of Chartered Accountants. They're a member of TransLink, or they're putting together recommendations to the mayors. Okay, I mean, they are good people. They know a little bit about money, but here we are after all this so-called expertise with the Institute of Charter Accountants, and we're still in debt and still can't find the money.

It's not their fault. It's the fault of the government which has not put a proper governance model together. It's time to unshackle TransLink and give it back to the people — the people of the Lower Mainland. That's what we were expecting with this bill here today, but that's not what we're getting.

We're getting more of the same, a band-aid solution —2 percent now, two years from now another 2 percent, reason being that this government doesn't want to give it away. It doesn't put trust in democracy.

We talk about auditors general and MAG, the municipal auditor general — how we're now going to look into what they're doing in this government. Perhaps it's going to look at the governance models and the auditing of TransLink, and it can't even properly audit itself.

Then, of course, the governance model. We have the board of trade that's part of it — the Vancouver Board of Trade, not Delta Chamber of Commerce, not the Surrey Board of Trade, but a specific interest group downtown that doesn't care about the security needs south of the Fraser. That's why you had a problem. That's why we have a problem with our buses south of Fraser. I'm not saying it's systemic strictly south of Fraser, but there are no security cameras on buses south of Fraser for a reason.

We need improved transit services. We need proper transit services in my community, and most of my council members are very opposed…. They're reluctant to accept this because of the poor transit services we receive in Delta. I don't want to get on my high horse on Delta, and I'm sure the member for Delta South would agree that per capita we're not getting our fair share. We have industrial parks. We have three different urban areas and a fourth community now that's part of Metro Vancouver — the First Nations. But why should we be treated differently? I mean, we do have a rural base, but we keep it rural because we want to protect our community. But we're being punished, and because we're being punished, we're not getting the type of infrastructure that Transit should be providing.

In my community 72nd Avenue alone gets 37,000 vehicles a day on it — 37,000 vehicles a day. That's half of what Lions Gate Bridge takes. Do we get the proper transit service there? No. It's really quite shocking when you do the comparative. We see gridlock up and down Nordel every day, a transit system that's partly responsible for paying for River Road, which for years has been irresponsible. We've got residential groups. We've got the Sunbury Neighbourhood Association. Why aren't they on TransLink? You're giving it to a group downtown.

The seniors involved with Deltassist — why aren't they part of the screening panel of who gets elected to TransLink? We have the B.C. Wharf Operators Association, the B.C. Trucking Association. They seem to have more input than the residents. I see the need to come forward with the 2 percent increase. But really, why are we not looking at the larger enchilada and doing it right? It's really the responsibility in my community to the homeowners who are trying to get to work every day. To get to work every day —and I'm sure that many of you will listen to your favourite radio show, CKNW, every morning….

Listen to the traffic reports. Every day Alex Fraser Bridge is an hour and a half long. If you want to get over that bridge and you've got to go to work at eight or eight-thirty, you better make sure you're on the bridge by six, even though on off-peak

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every day Alex Fraser Bridge is an hour and a half long. You know, if you want to get over that bridge — if you've got to go to work at eight, eight-thirty — you'd better make sure you're on the bridge by six, even though on off-peak times it's probably half an hour.

Why is it that the money isn't coming to probably the fastest-growing areas in the Lower Mainland, south of the Fraser? I realize….I'm not disagreeing with the need for Evergreen. I'm not disagreeing with what's being proposed here. But this is a band-aid solution for an ongoing problem, and the biggest problem of all is the lack of coordination and cohesiveness between planning at the municipal level — at the regional level —and the board of TransLink that has been hand-picked by the government opposite.

You've got to mesh it. You've got to make it work. It ain't working, and the government keeps burying its head in the sand. I don't understand that. I don't understand why that is. I do know, of course, that we have a minister opposite that says one thing, the Premier contradicts him, and now they suddenly scuttle about and try and patch it all up with a 2 percent tax increase.

Now, I've got to talk briefly about the pocketbook. You know, that's why I'm a little reluctant, but I know the other side will make fun of the 99 percent and the Occupy group downtown and all the rest of it, the burgeoning middle class. But you know what? For the person in my community, transit is essential. It's absolutely essential to get to work every day.

You know what? I talked to a mom the other day. There is a municipal election. I do knock doors now. Okay, I'm supporting a school board candidate. Her name will not be on the record here. But nevertheless, I will tell you this. Knocking on the door, I came across a soccer mom. The amount of money it costs her for gas to get to work every day has taken such a bite out of their pocketbook that she's had to cancel SurDel Girls Soccer for her two girls. I mean, we're talking maybe cents a day, but the pocketbook issue is mounting. It's mounting every day. It's hurting people. People are trying to make ends meet. Some people, of course, are trying to go to school, university.

Statistics Canada has made it very clear in releasing its findings on cross-county analysis on median family income. Vancouver had an average family income of $68,000 and didn't even make the top ten metropolitan areas per capita income. Edmonton was second. The cities such as Guelph, Regina and Sudbury were well ahead of us, and yet we have one of the highest standards of living. So slap on more taxes? You go, because for me right now it's a temporary solution to a larger, larger problem.

You know, we can look at what's been happening with the MSP premiums going up, up and up — the highest. You look what's going on in Alberta. Their MSP, I think, is zero, even today. Last year they went up 6 percent, and they're going up again. The property taxes are going up. Hydro was increased at 10 percent. I won't get into that argument, because we know darned well why those percentages are going up. If the government has its way, they'll go up even further.

We're seeing higher costs in all infrastructure costs, whether it be municipal or private, and it's getting away on us. So how do we find a way to pay for all these services that are necessary? Well, I think the first way to do it is to make transit accountable. Make it accountable to the taxpayer, to the guy and the lady going to work every day. Make sure they have that direct input, because right now it's not happening.

Now I want to also talk about the situation the mayors were thrown into. They were thrown into this situation. I mean, those who voted yes or no for the 2 percent tax — they had no option, really. Many who voted against it did it not because they're for or against the 2 percent, per se. They're against the structure that this government has foisted upon them, and they're tired of it.

That really means, as far as I'm concerned, that the whole apparatus of governance…. I mean, we've grown as a province. We're growing as a Lower Mainland community. We're not in the 19th century anymore. There is a fourth level of government. There's the federal government, there's a provincial government

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apparatus of governance. I mean, we've grown as a province. We're growing as a Lower Mainland community. We're not in the 19th century anymore.

There is a fourth level of government. There's the federal government, there's provincial government, there's municipal government, and there is a regional government — a regional government that needs overhaul. It needs overhauls, including the Metro transit system, where there is some accountability and direct democracy. That's what's lacking here.

This is, in my estimation, only a short-term fix, but does not provide a long-term funding. You know what? The plan's too late. It's way, way too late. It's a knee-jerk reaction to mismanagement by this government of TransLink for years. I'll leave the discussion on the Evergreen line to my good colleagues in the Tri-Cities, but we know that there's been this SeaBus that's been parked now for some time because of the lack of funding. The government knew about this.

I'm proud to say this — it's called the Pacific Breeze — that's in storage…. I mean, I'm proud to say on this side, way back in 1974, it was the Dave Barrett government that introduced the SeaBuses to the Lower Mainland. So you got us two, and now we're looking for the third one, and what does this government do? It's in storage. I mean, come on, give your head a shake. Something's wrong with this.

You know, in San Francisco they have a SeaBus linking system that is all throughout the bay, and the GVRD, through its diligence, before it became Metro Vancouver, was also looking at ferry options across the Fraser River, and that's on the shelf. That's been there for some time.

But unless we address the TransLink governance model, we're not going to get close to getting the Sea Breeze back in the water. I think, you know, the Premier with cutting down the governance…. This sort of sums it all up when she was asked about it: "There's no appetite to start monkeying with it before we get through municipal elections. We will look to municipal governments for direction on that, and I'll see if we can find some consensus, I don't think that this is going to be a fast process." Oh boy, that's a yawn.

How much longer are we going to have to wait? 2013? I guess maybe in 2013 we're going to see a final turnaround in the due diligence of TransLink. Now the Liberals have been dragging their feet on this long enough, and you know on our side for two years we've made it very clear what we would do. You know, we would try and find ways to fund transit.

One, of course, was the use of the carbon taxes, and the other one, of course, is through our green funds, but the green funds would be used to help out all communities but some would also help to support transit. I mean, that was a very progressive and positive way of looking at things. But, of course, I guess because it was the NDP that suggested it, it too was thrown under the bus.

Briefly, before I conclude I want to talk about a few options. You know, the type of fairness I think is very important and the lack of fairness we've seen for transit users, particularly those living in the suburbs, the middle class…. I don't see the real options here, the options whereby we need park-and-ride on the Trans-Canada Highway. I don't see that being put forward here because this is a short-term vision.

I look at the traffic jams, and I look at what is happening in my community on South Fraser perimeter road. I talked about the pocketbook issues. The other pocketbook issue we know is going to be tolling the Port Mann bridge — tolling the Port Mann bridge — three bucks one way, three bucks the other. I have an employee now that's probably going to have to find work elsewhere, because she's going to have to put that into the mix in her everyday lifestyle, how she is going to pay for it.

Those toll evaders are not going to use transit because there isn't a proper transit system going to be put in place when those tolls are executed. Instead, the toll evaders are going to find their way through a stop-and-go new freeway, with all its traffic lights, called the South Fraser perimeter road, dumping more congestion at the Alex Fraser Bridge.

As I started talking earlier about the traffic jam and the congestion in my community, the number one issue in North Delta right now is traffic congestion, and when all those toll evaders — and I don't blame them; they're trying to make ends meet, trying to find their way to get to work

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about the traffic jam and the congestion in my community. The number one issue in North Delta right now is traffic congestion. When all those toll evaders…. And I don't blame them. They're trying to make ends meet, trying to find their way to get to work. They're going do it down the South Fraser perimeter road, which is going to be bumper to bumper. By the time they get to the Alex Fraser Bridge, it's going to be a bloody mess. It's going to be a terrible mess, all because this government has not done any cohesive planning putting it all together.

The origin and destination studies of where the trucks are coming and where they're going, where people are coming and where they're going to work — they haven't done that modelling. It hasn't been done, because the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

The only way you're going to do it is put the trust where it belongs. That's the people, the voters, the metro transit system, the regional governments, the municipal governments. Give it back. Give it back.