Translink Critics: Watch Out For The Hidden Agendas!

Translink is the transportation authority for the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), setup by the NDP provincial government in 1998. Its Board of Directors has consisted of mayors and councilors from the the various municipalities around the GVRD. To the best of my knowledge, not one of them has any transportation experience.

From its inception, this board has been highly politicized, with every decision made for strictly political reasons and little to no regard for the big picture of the GVRD's transportation needs. Many have described Translink as being "completely dysfunctional".

On March 8th B.C.'s Transportation Minister, Kevin Falcon, announced a major restructuring of the Translink board. You can read more about it here. Lo and behold, replacing the politicians will be people who are ... wait for it ... transportation experts! What a concept!! They will carefully study the best options for Translink and then present a few of these options to the politicians to vote on a few times each year. Just like in a regular election, "None of the Above" will not be an option available to them!

You'd think that such a change would be welcomed by everyone, right? Well, not everyone. The usual suspects are, of course, complaining. This afternoon CKNW radio host Sean Leslie had one James Steidle on his program. Steidle recently wrote this article. His own biography states this: "James Steidle is the project co-ordinator for the Sustainable Communities Initiative, a labour group interested in regional governance and transportation in Greater Vancouver."

He tries to make the argument that the new Translink board will be less accountable because it is not "democratically elected". This, of course, assumes that the current board is accountable, which is a blatant falsehood. Decisions directly affecting a given municipality can very well be made by a majority of politicians who don't reside in that municipality. How does that provide accountability?

Even from here in Miami, I couldn't stand the nonsense that Steidle was espousing. Rather than throw a brick at my computer, I decided to write to Sean Leslie instead:

Sean,

As an engineer I'm completely insulted by what your guest is espousing. Would he suggest that major healthcare decisions be made by people with no medical experience? Should our schools be run by people with no education background? Of course not. Then why on earth does he think it right to have a major transportation system, covering vast areas of the GVRD managed by the mayors of individual communities; most with little to no transportation experience other than their daily commute? It makes absolutely no sense!

Furthermore, the assertion that the past Translink board was accountable is a huge falsehood and I think your guest very well knows that.

Sincerely,

Robert W.
Vancouver, BC
(but currently in Miami, FL)


I chose not to add one other key point, which is this: Why do you think Steidle and his ilk are so concerned about this change? Do you buy into his phoney argument about less accountability? In his article, search for these two phrases: "PPP" and "partnership". You'll find neither. Like a good poker player not revealing his cards, Steidle is not coming cleaning about his real motivations.

Why all Labour-friendly groups detest this change is because their socialist buddies on the past Translink Board, such as Burnaby mayor, Derek Corrigan, will now no longer be able to hand huge construction projects to their friends & supporters who run the unionized construction firms. Instead, the best deals for the GVRD taxpayer will be found. These are clearly through public-private partnerships (PPPs), where the private-sector firm that builds it accepts all cost overruns.

Imagine that, looking out for the best interest of the taxpayer! This has never been a high priority with anyone connected to the B.C. NDP Party.