Frankly Speaking

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 ...