NORTH DELTA - In a letter sent to Transportation Minster Shirley Bond, Delta North NDP MLA Guy Gentner wants to know why the BC Liberals have adopted Alberta’s practice of using Rocky Mountain and Turnpike truck-trains on BC. “We’ve seen this movie before, but unlike the original cult spoof this remake has real consequences. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is playing in BC and the Minister dances to the tune “Let’s do the time warp again. She is stepping to a beat from the past rather than a modern step of solutions.”
The Delta North MLA said he became alarmed when Delta Council endorsed a provincial permit that would allow Long Combination Vehicles (LCV’s) to operate in Delta. “It raises a whole lot of questions. The Liberals are fundamentally changing road transport with the introduction of truck-trains between the coast and the interior. I think this is just the beginning of the horror show on BC roads.”
Gentner has asked that LCV permitting be stopped until the government addresses safety concerns and sustainable transportation alternatives. “Trucking is an integral part of our economy, but truck-trains threaten our roads, in our mountains and congested Lower Mainland,” says Gentner, “Just like the HST, the Liberals are trying to sneak this one through. The BC Liberal future for our roads is clear: hundreds of truck-trains speeding down the Coquihalla while our rail yards sit empty?”
“Harmonizing transportation regulations through new interprovincial accords such TILMA and the New West Partnership Trade Agreement are not always in our best interest” says the Opposition Intergovernmental Relations Critic. “BC is different than Alberta or Saskatchewan. With all due respect to our prairie cousins, British Columbians are not flatlanders. In many ways we are more like California than Alberta. In fact, California has had a long standing position against LCV’s, even though it has the largest container port facilities in North America. If the Premier wants to emulate California climate change initiatives then he should do what that state has done: mitigate freight congestion of roadways by encouraging rail movement and short-sea shipping.”
Gentner continued, “It is ironic that the Minister favours truck-trains in southern BC as this will compete against rail-trains from Prince Rupert’s container terminal to inter-modal yards in her own community of Prince George. The BC Liberal boogie is clearly out of step with the 21st Century.”
