8 BCBusiness May 2015 Portrait: adaM blasberg
British Columbia is often lauded as being
a leader when it comes to democratic initia-
tives. From recall legislation to the anti-HST
vote, we are keen participants in determining
how we are governed. The only problem is,
British Columbians rarely know what's good
for us—at least over the long term.
That's become increasingly clear during the
contentious transit referendum, which merci-
fully comes to a close on May 29. According
to the polls as we go to press, the Noes (those
opposed to a 0.5 per cent sales tax hike to pay
for expanded transit and other congestion-
fighting measures) have it by a margin of two
to one. The winning argument is simple: the
agency that runs our transportation planning,
TransLink, is untrustworthy—there-
fore we should starve it of resources.
When it comes to complicated
decisions affecting so many facets of
our economy, turning the levers of
power over to the public is a mistake.
Voters are not focused on the world
of 2041—with a million more people
living in Greater Vancouver, clogging
up our roads and buses—but the here
and now, where a former TransLink
CEO is enjoying a fat severance payout
and those damn Compass readers still
aren't working. They're voting to pun-
ish past sins, not plan for the future.
That sort of planning—making the
unpopular decision to raise taxes to
pay for infrastructure—used to be
the work of government. Now, our
elected officials put everything to a
vote or avoid the topic entirely. Just
look at what happened in Alberta.
There, a collapsing oil sector com-
bined with fiscal choices by past governments
has wrought financial ruin (more on that in "A
Letter of Condolence," p.32).
"We all want to blame somebody for the
circumstance we're in," said Alberta's pre-
mier Jim Prentice in a startlingly honest March
radio interview. "In terms of who is respon-
sible, we all need only look in the mirror. Basi-
cally all of us have had the best of everything
and have not had to pay for what it costs."
The same could be said of B.C. and its
impending transportation crisis. Only time
will tell if a future premier of this province
has similar courage to speak those words.
C O N T R I B U T O R S
Matt O'Grady, Editor-in-Chief
mogrady@canadawide.com / @bCbusiness
Jim Sutherland apologizes
to friends and family in Alberta
for the letter he's written to
their home province ("A Letter
of Condolence, " p.32). A
native of Saskatchewan, he's
been a British Columbian for
a long time and once edited
magazines such as Vancouver
and Western Living, as well as
the Vancouver Sun's weekend
supplement, Mix.
MARCH's Most
populAR stoRies
on BCBusiness.CA
30 Under 30
Best Cities
to Work for
in B.C.
There
Goes the
Neighbourhood
Forbes 2015 list
of billionaires
includes three
from Vancouver
If the No side
wins, it'll cost
Vancouver billions
/30under30 /careers /real-estate /finance
/manufacturing-
transport
Steven Hughes–the artist
behind our cover story–has
illustrated everything from
finance to true life stories in
publications that include Alberta
Venture, ESPN, Financial Post,
the Globe and Mail, Reader's
Digest and MoneySense.
Originally from southern
Ontario, he lives in Montreal
with his dog, Bixby, and enjoys
travelling and reading.
When Democracy
Attacks
editor's desk
In JUnE
Who are the most influential women leaders in B.C. today? Read the June issue and find out!
