may 2015 BCBusiness 17 BcBUsiness.ca
Business Brawl
T h e M a t r i x
angry words fly over this month's transit referendum by Jacob Parry
a
curious fight has
broken out in the ranks
of the usually har-
monious pro-business chorus
over whether to support a 0.5
per cent tax increase to pay for
transit improvements in the
Lower Mainland, as proposed
in a referendum that concludes
this month. On the one side are
most of the region's mayors,
developers and big business
groups; on the other side are the
trenchantly anti-tax Canadian
Taxpayers Federation and more
circumspect Canadian Federa-
tion for Independent Business. A
look at how it all breaks down:
gReateR LangLey
chamBeR OF cOmmeRce
FaCe: KRistine simpsOn, president
Why: the Langley chamber fears a "leakage
of investment and consumers into abbotsford
and the U.s. to avoid a regional tax."
PrOvisO: the chamber supports the
concept of mobility pricing, in which drivers
pay for their use of roads.
RegiOnaL chamBeRs OF
cOmmeRce (minUs LangLey)
FaCe: iain BLacK, president and
ceO of the vancouver Board of trade
Why: congestion. "every minute
we lose in traffic or passed up by an
overcrowded bus is a minute we're
losing with our families, or a minute of
lost productivity at work."
PrOvisO: there's concern about how
transLink will spend the money. surrey
Board of trade's anita huberman argues that, whatever the
vote outcome, the province needs to make transLink more
accountable and change its governance structure.
canadian taxpayeRs FedeRatiOn
FaCe: JORdan Bateman, B.c. director
Why: "Until transLink reduces its waste,
we shouldn't give them any more money,"
argues the anti-tax crusader.
PrOvisO: the ctF believes that the
Lower mainland, and its far-flung suburbs
in particular, need better transit. their
proposal is to earmark 0.5 per cent of
future municipal revenues to that end.
YES
RetaiL cOUnciL OF canada
FaCe: gReg WiLsOn, director of
government relations (B.c.)
Why: the retail group says it is sup-
portive of the need for new infrastruc-
ture to "(bring) our goods, customers
and employees to our stores."
PrOvisO: the council's support is
contingent on the 0.5 per cent tax being
integrated into the pst, which the government
promised in February it would do. a separate tax,
argues the council, could cost retailers
up to $50,000 to implement.
NO
STRONG
WEAK
48
the number of
business asso-
ciations, trade
unions, nGos and
municipal
governments that
have endorsed
a yeS vote
