Vancouver Province
for May 5, 2000

Does anyone in this country believe in democracy? Especially when undergoing it might cause those in power some heartburn?

Referenda are not, despite what some of our politicians mumble, inconsistent with representative democracy but in fact are often useful adjuncts to it by giving politicians the people’s instructions.

In days not that long ago we had a lot of referenda such as for schools, parks, public buildings and so on. These are no longer fashionable, it seems, and now politicians simply assume that our electing them was a mandate that they can do as they please with our money.

At one time it was all the rage to have referenda. Whether it was local option for booze – especially in Ontario – or whether or not we would permit professional sports or shopping on Sunday. Or perhaps whether we should build a rec center or a swimming pool. In my lifetime there have been two national referenda, one in 1944 on Conscription and the other, the 1992 Charlottetown Accord on constitutional amendment.

Referenda ought to be used moderately. It’s just not possible for the public to be informed on all the issues which are the daily toil of the elected representative. But there are times when they should be mandatory. The criterion ought simply to be, does this matter go to the root of how we live together as a community? That’s why there was one for the Charlottetown and why there should’ve been one for the Nisga’a Treaty.

George Puil – Mad King George as he is affectionately called in some circles - has been appointed by the Vancouver City Council (of which he has been almost a lifetime member) to the Greater Vancouver Regional District (which he chairs) which in turn appointed him to the Greater Vancouver Regional Transit Board (now called Translink as in the fashion of the spin doctors) which made him Chairman thereof.

To be fair to Mr Puil, he did not start this process – it began back in 1986 with SkyTrain which was a provincial government undertaking. Likewise, he’s not responsible for the Skytrain extension into even more faithful NDP ridings. But he did sign the deal for Translink, including SkyTrain with the provincial government and he and his group are now charged with finding ways to pay for it all.

The proposal, which is kept deliciously vague, proposes to tax every motorist in the GVRD (the most quoted figure is $75 per vehicle), triple PST on parking lots, and tax for the first time "free" parking lots as seen in most malls and beside large produce stores.

Let’s take these points one by one.

A $75 levy on cars, quite apart from being a horrendous impost on lower and middle income voters, is scarcely going to get cars off the road – indeed quite the converse. Unless you’re a faithful NDP supporter and thus have SkyTrain handy you’re much more likely now to drive your car on the grounds that you paid the penalty when you gave Mr Puil that $75 and you might as well get the best bang for your buck.

The trouble with the tripling the PST on parking is that there is no guarantee that Victoria won’t simply put that into general revenue. And like the $75 levy, hits lower income people the hardest.

The problem with the tax on free parking is that again you will have an impost that hits the poorer the hardest. Moreover, people will use that parking lot less and the odds are that the merchants will suffer accordingly.

But George Puil thinks I’m all wet. Moreover he insists that the public is behind him. He insists that he’s listened to everyone imaginable on this subject and cites public meetings, private meetings and private polls to demonstrate why this package is acceptable to the public.

OK, George, then let’s have a referendum on the matter and see if you’re right. Translink has only the barest link to each municipality and in the case of Delta, none at all. This is a matter, George, that indeed goes to the root of how we all live with one another in this region so give us a vote.

Or is it that you’re afraid that all that support you think you have just isn’t there and that you might have to go back to the old drawing board?