Greater Victoria residents should have a say before their property taxes increase to pay for a nearly $1-billion light-rail project, says Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard.
With this statement, Mayor Leonard is being disingenuous in the extreme. Is he that disinterested in the progress of the CRD? Does he refuse to believe the stats which plainly show that more roads and interchanges do not ease traffic congestion? Or is he so out of touch with the day-to-day welfare of the people of the municipality he is in charge of, that he acts as “boogeyman” by throwing out such inflammatory words as “billion dollar” and “tax increase”, without showing that this will happen anyway, just through the maintenance of the broken transportation system we now have?
Most importantly, LRTs continue to be built because they typically sustain and strengthen communities while enhancing positive economic development.
Why is Mayor Leonard suddenly so interested in what the residents have to say about an LRT system, yet did not jump up and insist on the same thing for the billion dollar sewage system, which will also significantly increase property taxes? What is the reason he is being selective now?
Richard Weatherill
Saanich
