Frankly Speaking

Jinny Sims (top), newly-elected MLA for Surrey-Panorama, could be in the provincial cabinet should the NDP take power. If the BC Liberals remain in power, new Surrey-White Rock MLA Tracy Redies (bottom) could be in cabinet. We won't know which party will take power until sometime next week at the earliest, after absentee ballots are counted. As the uncertainty over which political party or combination of parties will form the next provincial government continues, it’s worth contemplating how the South Fraser and Fraser Valley regions will be represented in the new government. Of course, there need to be local MLAs in the cabinet. There also needs to be a strong commitment by cabinet and caucus members to work towards resolving important issues affecting communities in the eastern portion of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. This is the fastest-growing area of B.C. and has many pressing issues which require the attention of the provincial government. These inclu...

Artist's drawing The Port Mann and Golden Ears bridge tolls are a major itrritant to people in many Lower Mainland communities. Both the NDP and BC Liberals are trying to curry favour with them by promising partial or complete removal of the tolls. Last Sunday ushered in the provincial election campaign for Surrey and many other South Fraser residents - two days ahead of the official start. Both major political parties promised good news for drivers south of the Fraser who regularly pay tolls. The BC Liberals kicked off the promising spree, saying Sunday that if the party is re-elected, bridge tolls will be capped at $500 per vehicle per year, for drivers with TReO stickers on their windshields. Significantly, this would apply to both the Port Mann Bridge (owned by the province) and the Golden Ears Bridge (owned by TransLink). The amount of tolls that would have been paid by drivers after they reach the $500 mark will be covered by the province. The BC Liberals’ p...

Photos (top to bottom) - BC Liberal leader Christy Clark, NDP leader John Horgan, Green leader Andrew Weaver The B.C. election campaign officially starts tomorrow. With fixed election dates being known four years in advance, the unofficial campaign is much longer than the official one. The three parties with chances to elect MLAs have been campaigning in various fashions all this year. Much of the campaigning was done during the spring legislative session, particularly with the budget and the reaction to it. It has also involved advertising from the government, the political parties and numerous special interest groups. The interest in the campaign shown by the public, up until now, has been very muted. Many people are unaware there is an election coming. When informed about the May 9 election (I have witnessed this personally), the response is “when is the next one?” and “I’m too busy to pay attention, get on the voters’ list or do anything else.” As Martyn Brown ...

Speakers at a housing forum sponsored by the Urban Development Institute brought a measure of common sense to the often-overheated rhetoric about housing prices in Metro Vancouver. As they pointed out, the price of townhouses and condominium apartments in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board area (which includes Surrey and Langley) has actually fallen since 2008. Only the price of detached homes is rising. The significant change is the development of a two-tier market. There is one market for detached homes, no matter what size the lot, and another for multi-family units. The gap between the two has risen from $200,000 in 2009 to between $300,000 and $400,000 today. It continues to widen. In some ways, this should not be a surprise. Ever since the Agricultural Land Reserve was created in 1972, there have been significant limits on land available for urban development. Up until recent years, there has been enough supply available. But that has changed. Much of Surrey has been develope...