Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Opinion The Tyee - Christy Clark proposes audit

Premier Cristy Clark has called for an audit of Translink. However the major problems that exist do not seem to be her concern. Translink was originally set up under the South Coast BC Transit Authority Act – Translink with the aim of getting people out of their cars and into transit. With respect, Clark’s proposed audit is not a public audit? What is needed extends beyond the Act to the government itself. The present Liberal government are the inheritors of the mistakes made by former Premier Campbell. The wrongs include a number of selling off government corporations and/or assets to the private sector. The present liberal government had the opportunity to right the wrongs of the previous administration. Of interest is Translink. It is time to right the wrongs of Liberal government’s inept handling of Translink. Instead of righting the wrongs the Clark government has adopted the format of the act made under former Premier Campbell’s rule. It is time to stop the advance of Translink to the private sector, begun under former Premier Campbell as was done with the ferries. The present Campbell appointed Board instead of making changes designed to get people out of their cars and into public transit have made improvements which encourage the use of cars. Their improvements have also increased the tax burden on the general public including car drivers. It avoids taxation of the real benefactors of public transit, business and other aspects of the private world that presently pay little or nothing toward transit in the form of taxation. What is needed is clear. Two things are imperative. First return Translink Board to elected Mayors plus a limited number of others. Second, make all services and companies in Translink and Coast Mountain Bus companies the same, not contracted. John & Elizabeth Beeching, Two HandyDART users at betjohn@shaw.ca

No comments:

Post a Comment