What can you buy for 35 cents?
Murray Skeels
In your mail this week you probably received a ballot for the Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite. You will be asked to support a new tax to pay for new buses, subways, trains, a new bridge and a Seabus.
Since the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan was announced, an amazing battle has broken out. On one side, more than 100 organizations have formed a coalition of supporters of the Plan. They range from the David Suzuki Foundation to the Board of Trade and include universities, trade unions and urban planners.
On the “No” side of the debate we have a very small but dedicated crew who are proving very effective at appealing to our baser instincts. Very few people are eager to give away money so they tell us we shouldn’t have to, somebody else should pay, the money will be wasted anyway, and we can “show them who’s boss”. The arguments focus on every mistake or even debatable decision made by Translink over the years. What this argument ignores is that the money will not be subject to Translink’s discretion – it will go directly to fund the infrastructure development detailed in the Mayor’s Plan.
If the plebiscite passes you will pay an additional 50 cents of tax on every hundred dollars you spend on things PST is applied to. Things like rent, mortgage payments and groceries are excluded. So the average family will pay about 35 cents per day. Everybody who travels into Metro Vancouver and businesses will also pay the tax when they buy taxable things. At the end of the year it will add up to $250 million. That is the power of millions of people each contributing a small amount.
Traditionally the Province and Federal Governments have contributed to transportation infrastructure so we are anticipating a total annual budget of $750 million. The Plan covers 10 years so we end up with $7.5 billion worth of buses and subways and trains for 35 cents per day.
On Bowen I often hear the question “What’s in it for us?” The knee jerk reaction is to say there is nothing for us, but that would be a very short-sighted response. Greater Vancouver is already the second most congested urban area in North America. The only area with a worse problem is Los Angeles and they recently passed a referendum to massively improve regional transportation. So the real short answer is “because it’s the right thing to do.”
If you vote against it you will have to take responsibility for every passenger left stranded because the buses passing by are all full, the pollution from tens of thousands of cars stuck in traffic jams and the parents that miss having dinner with their family because they got stuck in traffic and missed the ferry.
People are moving into all of those condos being built in North and West Vancouver. Those newcomers are going to be joining us trying to get across the bridges. When you think about it, paying 35 cents a day doesn’t seem like much for more buses and another Seabus. While you may never take one, you know a lot of other people won’t be driving their car if a bus ride to work is fast and reliable.
Climate change is a fact of life but most people feel helpless to do anything concrete to make a real difference. Part of the ultimate solution to reducing the world’s CO2 footprint is to build highly liveable high-density compact urban areas. The Plan is designed to provide the efficient high-speed public transportation required to meet that challenge.
Years of work have gone into creating this transportation plan. Without guaranteed ongoing funding it will never happen. The 0.5% tax was selected as the fairest, most affordable way to fund the plan. Now everything hinges on the plebiscite.
If voters like you don’t support the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan there will be no funding. So please take the time to fill in your ballot, vote “Yes” and mail it back before you forget. It’s the right thing for the planet, the right thing for Metro Vancouver and in the fullness of time the benefits will affect all of our lives, even on our bucolic little island.
Much needed funds should stay on Bowen
Gordon Ganong
On Monday evening March 9, I joined Bill Good’s telephone Town Hall meeting on the Metro Transit Plan and upcoming referendum. Bill had Mayor Darrell Mussatto of the City of North Vancouver and Mayor Richard Walton of the District of North Vancouver.
As one would expect there was much discussion both from the Mayors and the call-in listeners regarding the congestion and traffic issues on the North Shore, including improvements the Plan would provide for the influx of more population. I requested a place on the call-in list, however was not given the opportunity to speak unless it was by voice mail after the call had ended.
It is my understanding that Mayor Skeels voted at Mayors Council in favor of holding the referendum. By doing this he quite rightfully voted to ensure that the people have a say whether the Plan should proceed.
The Plan includes an additional half percent sales tax increase. Starting March 16, the people of Metro Vancouver including those on Bowen can then decide.
During the Town Hall, one of the justifications for the half percent tax increase was it would cost only 30 cents per person. 30 cents for 365 days is over $100.00 a year per person. In other words over $340,000 per year would be collected from Bowen Island residents-every year.
Bowen Island currently pays $520,000 to TransLink annually by way of individual property assessments, is assessed a Regional Transit Levy on BC Hydro bills and pays by user for each rider.
Yet, Bowen does not have service to all areas of its own Municipality.
For 10 years on a regional basis, rural communities throughout British Columbia have had access to 5 Regional Economic Trusts of $50 million each.
The Sunshine Coast is included in the Coastal Island Trust. Bowen Island as part of Metro Vancouver, along with a number of other smaller communities in the Fraser Valley, has not had access to any such funding for its social and economic sustainability. Some but not all of the small Gulf Islands are in the same situation as they are part of the Capital Region District(CRD).
For 10 years on a regional basis, rural communities throughout British Columbia have had access to 5 Regional Economic Trusts of $50 million each. The Sunshine Coast is included in the Coastal Island Trust. Bowen Island as part of Metro Vancouver, along with a number of other smaller communities in the Fraser Valley, have not had access to any such funding for its social and economic sustainability. Some but not all of the small Gulf Islands are in the same situation as they are part of the Capital Region District(CRD).
Separate from the Regional Trusts, Bowen and these other communities are ineligible for most Provincial Government Rural Development grants. That is, ineligible to apply!
In addition, many federal municipal programs are administered by Metro, and the access to these programs falls into a similar situation as the Trusts.
Bowen Island belongs to Islands Trust. We should not confuse it with Regional Economic Trusts. Every Bowen property owner contributes to Islands Trust on their annual tax assessment. Bowen contributes $225,000 annually for the services that Islands Trust provide. We receive no funding from Islands Trust.
Just imagine what amenities and services we could have on Bowen with access to a Regional Trust, access to Federal municipal infrastructure funding and access to provincial rural programs.
Bowen is sending much needed funds off Island while receiving an unfair share that comparable communities enjoy. Bowen Island has great resilience, but, one has to ask, “Are we the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for others?”
So, does it make sense to vote to send another $340,000 off island with this new transit tax?
Vote “Yes” for Environment and Quality of Life
David Hocking
I’ve been a transit rider for 20 years, relying on an underfunded and slowly deteriorating network to get to work and appointments on time. So I’m thrilled to see the region’s mayors agree on a plan to vastly improve the system, cut congestion, pollution and wasted time. But a new poll shows the “no” side may well ditch the plan. This, despite the fact that environmentalists, transportation experts, health practitioners, students, business and labour groups and myriad local organizations extol its benefits and urge support.
Unfortunately, a misinformation campaign against TransLink by the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation caught on. They have vilified the organization for years, even though independent analysts rate it as efficient and one of the best systems in North America.
Sure, TransLink has problems, but does a “no” vote address them?
Well, no. A “no” vote on the actual question – Do you support a new 0.5% Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement tax to be dedicated to the Mayors’ Council transportation and transit plan? – only tells Premier Clark we are unwilling to pay for transit. It’s silent on TransLink. And she won’t fix it because its problems have largely been caused by a dictatorial provincial government. It appointed an unelected board that meets privately, and refuses any new funding sources except more property tax.
The vote isn’t about TransLink, it’s about our future. Do we want an expensive, polluted, gridlocked, Los Angeles-style region? Analysts say that over the next years we will need 26 more highway lanes to handle the extra traffic, and new parking lots half the size of Richmond.
So let’s swing the vote positively. Here are eight reasons why it’s best to vote “yes” and four reasons why “no” makes no sense. And yes, TransLink’s governance should be improved, so write to Minister Stone and Premier Clark and demand it.
Let’s vote “yes” because:
- Everyone benefits from increased transit, whether you use it or not. The plan would invest in buses, trains, HandyDART and the Seabus, as well as bike routes, bridges, roads and walking paths, reducing congestion by 20% and improving mobility for all.
- For 35 cents a day, the Suzuki Foundation estimates a “yes” vote would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even with the expected addition of a million more people, and to about 25% below the level resulting from a “no” vote. David Suzuki says, “By a tiny investment of every household, we can make a huge impact.”
- Over 100 groups say “yes” – from the Suzuki Foundation and Wilderness Committee to the BC Chamber of Commerce and Vancouver Board of Trade. When such unusual bedmates agree, they must be on to something.
- Young people take transit more than others, and need better connections to get to schools and universities. Buses to UBC are crammed, often too full to pick up waiting students. The Mayors’ Plan would fix this.
- Along with youth, transit use is highest among lower income households, visible minorities and recent immigrants.
- Study after study shows better transit improves public health because of lower air pollution, fewer traffic accidents, and more walking. That’s why all the local health authorities support a “yes” vote.
- It will benefit the economy by over $1billion according to two independent reports, one by Clean Energy Canada and another by the CD Howe Institute—again, strange bedfellows agreeing.
- If you don’t trust TransLink to spend the new funds wisely, don’t worry. An independent body chaired by Jimmy Pattison will audit all expenditures.
Voting “no” makes no sense because:
- It will punish us, not TransLink, with more cars, pollution, congestion and beat-up roads. And it will hurt those who rely most on transit – our youth, seniors and those with lower incomes.
- It will cost you more. Premier Clark says if the plan is rejected, property taxes should fund transit, a more costly approach. The mayors proposed other options such as the existing carbon tax, but Premier Clark opposed them all. And new highways are far more expensive than transit.
- The Canadian Taxpayers Federation doesn’t bother with facts. The campaign manager is a lobbyist for the tar sands (remember “Ethical” Oil?), and they have misrepresented TransLink’s performance, its costs and its ability to fund any expansion. They haven’t presented realistic alternatives because they don’t have any.
- In the words of SFU’s Gordon Price, it will deliver a “devastating” blow to the made-in-B.C. vision of “cities in a sea of green” that’s shaped the region for the past 40 years.
To sum up, again from Mr. Price, “This is about the future of the region — how it’s going to be shaped… If we’re not going to tax ourselves any more for these collective goods that deliver services broadly across the community, that’s a different kind of Canada.”
So that’s why I’m urging all my friends to vote “yes”.
