Here's what the NDP transportation critic said about the Port Mann bridge project in question period yesterday.
M. Karagianis: Well, the minister cannot be serious about that. But listen. The reality is the project is late, it's massively over budget, and the financing scheme has collapsed. This isn't just a failure, but it's an embarrassment for the minister and it's also a colossal waste of taxpayers' money. My question to the minister is simply: will he reveal to British Columbians the cost of this embarrassing failure? How much are we paying because he ignored the warnings, blindly pursued a privatization scheme, wasted time on his failed financing deal and pushed the costs through the roof?
And here's the resulting news release from the Liberal caucus, produced by government employees.
BC Liberal Government Caucus
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 2, 2009
NDP CALL PORT MANN 'A COLOSSAL WASTE'
VICTORIA -NDP transportation critic Maurine Karagianis continues to reject the new Port Mann Bridge and the 8,000 jobs that will be created during construction.
The NDP's opposition to the bridge was reconfirmed in today's Question Period at the B.C. Legislature, when Karagianis called the Port Mann Bridge project: "...a colossal waste of taxpayers' money."
It seems dishonest, the kind of activity that brings politics and politicians into disrepute.
And it raises the question of why, when the government is citing a desperate need to cut spending, taxpayers' money is being used for this kind of activity instead of for health care or commun ity safety.
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6 comments:
Watching Falcon waving his arms around and giving mini speaches when questioned makes one wonder what else does he have to hide? The silly person really figures he has a handle on things when obviousy he doesn't have a clue as to what he is doing
I think the key to the Port Mann bridge construction is the 8,000 jobs that will be created. This is a large number and pretty important during these questionable economic times. Carole James just endorsed the bridge the other week so they NDP can't go back and say this is a bad project. I don't even want to see what kind of a fiasco they can make out of it like their fast ferries. I predict it would be a rusting bridge and be out of commission by 2018.
Anonymous 10.33 am needs to get over the fast ferries. They were built - extremely well-built in fact - for the same reason as the Canada Line fiasco, the convention centre fiasco and, likely, the Port Mann - i.e. because Glen Clark and a few of his henchment refused to listen to professional advice. They were to be a legacy for him. Well, despite Campbell giving them away, so that he could dock the fast-ferry-finger on the North Van waterfront forever, they are doing just fine thank you. In fact, if Campbell had taken engineering advise, they could have been refitted and used to bolster our current fleet of expensive, hiccuping German-built ships. But he wouldn't want that, would he? By saying that a new NDP-built Port Mann would be rusting by 2018, Anon is demeaning excellent BC bridge-builders. Is the Island Highway falling apart? No-one ever mentions that development do they?
Bottom line? The Carole James NDP is NOT the NDP of Glen Clark, Miller, Dosanjh and Harcourt. Nor is it the arrogant government of Campbell, Falcon, Coleman etc. And this former Socred/BC Liberal voter will have no problem with helping to vote her into power in May.
PS: The 8,000 jobs will be created no matter WHO builds the bridge; it's just that under the NDP they'd be jobs for British Columbians who actually pay taxes here...and we would not have to pay through the nose, or give away the farm to unaccountable Partnerships BC to get it.
I still consider this proposal to be a Polution factory and could be mitigated by high speed lite rail from Chilliwack to city burbs.
The simple fact is that the Port Mann bridge will be a huge election issue and both the Liberals and the NDP know it. Both parties are salivating over those new seats in Surrey and further out is mostly Liberal as well so it is win-win for Falcon and loose-loose for the NDP. This is why Carole James flip flopped on this issue the other day and why she has Karagianis doing her dirty work so she doesn’t look like a hypocritical flake.
How come the Surrey NDP MLA’s never say anything about the Port Mann bridge project in the house ? Why is it left for a Vancouver Island MLA who has no clue what those brutal wait times in traffic jams are all about for Surrey residents?
Question for you Mr. Wilcocks why do you not mention Carole James recent flip flop on this issue ? It is fairly relevant but once again you only report one side of the story.
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