Could there be sadder indictment of a government-created corporation than for it to try to borrow credibility from the private sector and then present this as a good news story?
We’re talking about TransLink, and in this scenario local billionaire Jim Pattison is the cavalry.
The Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s largest privately owned company, with some 31,000 employees and $7.6 billion in annual sales. When it comes to money, the man clearly knows what he’s doing. TransLink, on the other hand, has a deep and troubling history of chronic mismanagment of the green stuff. Indeed, when it comes to managing money the corporation has a credibility gap as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) conducted a survey of Metro Vancouver business owners and found 91 per cent of respondents don’t trust TransLink to spend new cash wisely. Ouch.
So, Mr. Pattison has been appointed to oversee TransLink’s transit spending if the "Yes" side wins in the upcoming plebiscite on whether the provincial sales tax should be raised by 0.5 per cent to fund new transportation projects.
The mayors of Surrey and Vancouver presented this news, which almost smacks of receivership, as a major boon to their cause. But it’s not. It’s sad, because this is not a private company being tossed a lifesaver, but a government-created corporation wanting more tax revenue it doesn’t deserve.
Pattison is cast in the role of the big brother brought along as back-up to his little brother’s schoolyard fight. A fine thing for a big brother to do, but it also speaks volumes about the little brother’s inability to fend for himself and stand on his own two feet.
Remember, the plebiscite is not about whether we want better and proper transit. Of course we do, everyone does. The plebiscite is whether the provincial sales tax should be increased.
Between 1994 and 2014, Surrey taxpayers "contributed" more than $480 million to TransLink. It has already taken enough of the public’s money and should therefore already have enough cash to fund these transit projects.
Sorry we blew it, but just trust us this once more, doesn’t cut it. Even with Jim Pattison in your corner.
The Now
