Voters in the upcoming provincial election have to say no to Christy Clark’s vanity bridge.
That was the message made loud and clear at a rally in Steveston Friday morning where George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project opponents gathered to denounce the $3.5 billion bridge plan.
“I’m going to fight with my very last breath on earth any statements by the government that the tunnel is no longer useful,” said Doug Massey to the roughly 60 in attendance.
Organized by Fraser Voices, the Richmond event, which featured several speakers including well known advocates against industrialization of the lower Fraser estuary, spread the message the new bridge is a financial boondoggle. They said it’s aimed to accommodate the port and that the government is casting misinformation about a cheaper alternative to twin the current tunnel.
Massey disputed a number of government conclusions including the claim the tunnel is at the end of its design life, noting that back in 2009 former Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon had declared the current tunnel was good for another 50 years.
“This government is blatantly misrepresenting the facts and misleading the public and my family doesn’t want to associate its name to any part of this project. It’s nothing more than a Christy Clark vanity bridge,” said Massey.
Saying there’s a crises situation when it comes to the Fraser estuary and its sensitive habitat, biologist Otto Langer warned the new industrial era on the river, as well as the bridge, will completely wipe it the estuary in a few decades. He also said the federal government has also let the citizens of B.C. down.
Richmond Coun. Harold Steves said the government’s “lies go on and on” and that he’s never heard so many untruths about a project before the bridge plan. He noted the structure will open up Delta and Richmond farmland for industrialization.
Saying the province has been making baseless and uncited claims about the seismic dangers of the tunnel, Nicholas Wong, the independent candidate for Delta South, said seismic upgrades, including the one abandoned at the tunnel a few years ago, would be sufficient to protect the structure even in a severe shake.
Holding government reports with blacked out sections, Wong said he’s not opposed to a new crossing but it needs to be justified.
“I want a solution that is based on facts and has clear justification and they have not given that to us so far,” he said.
