TransLink was created by the provincial government in 1998 as a result of lobbying by then GVRD mayors wanting more say in transit projects, its priorities and financing. The initial board consisted of mayors with authority to raise taxes.
As with all Crown corporations, there can be political meddling whether by the NDP, creators of TransLink, or the B.C. Liberal party, proposer of the Canada Line as a showpiece for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
At that time, the board was concerned with growing debt load and ridership with differences in priorities and financing, the elected board was dismissed and replaced by an appointed provincial board. One would think this would give the government more influence with a board of their choice. The current board consists of nine members appointed for three years with a second term optional. Two of the appointments are from the mayors' council, Vancouver and Surrey, (the two areas most to benefit in the proposed plebiscite). The remaining seven member board consists of the chair person with a transportation background, corporate directors, a partner in an international accounting firm, a corporate lawyer, CEOs etc.
These individuals are modestly remunerated with annual stipends in the $50,000 range except of the chair. This board bears the brunt of the public angst in the pending plebiscite which I believe is misplaced.
Much has been made of TransLink salaries and operational efficiencies. There have been unfair comparisons of these issues with other jurisdictions. The same criticisms and festering public opinions apply to B.C.'s ferry corporation and our regional health care system.
It's far too easy to play the blame game. The mistrust of TransLink itself should not be the overwhelming issue, as we put pen to paper and cast our vote before May 29, 2015. The culpability for foisting this costly plebiscite on us rests solely with our elected officials collectively failing to carry out their mandate. Twenty-one mayors failed to achieve consensus on priorities and financing. Understandable with imbalances in regional cities and municipalities in population and growth projections. One of the regional government's mandated responsibility is transportation planning. They should not shoulder responsibility as the decision to engage the public in an ill thought out plebiscite rests solely with the provincial government.
The $7.5-billion plebiscite overwhelmingly favours Vancouver, Coquitlam and Surrey as those are the densely populated areas.
So I'll ask the question 18 other mayors asked, why should we with little benefit accept the same tax burden? Where's the user pay philosophy and provincial leadership when needed most?
I'm from the old school, elected politicians should not shy away from tough choices. They have all the information and expertise at hand to make an informed decision on our behalf and take responsibility for their action.
The plebiscite should be defeated in principle as an unjust tax and a failure of political leadership.
For the record I am a frequent user of the Canada Line and a proponent of public transit.
And a good night to you, Delta commuters.
