A Non-Partisan Association councillor is standing by his blistering criticism of Vision Vancouver councillors after they failed to support the proposed 311 multilingual phone system.

At the September 28 council meeting, council voted 6-5 in favour of dedicating $200,000 to “advanced funding for interim activities”. (Staff will report back to council on November 30 on how the $10.7 million needed to install the system””with an annual operating budget of $5.7 million””should be raised.) But Coun. B.C. Lee sent out a news release that same afternoon in which he chastised his opponents for “Blurred Vision” and delaying services to the “immigrant community”.

“By voting against 311 today, the opposition councillors have sent a strong message to Vancouver's immigrant community that they should simply wait a few more years before they become a priority,” Lee wrote in the release.

But one party's ambivalence on immigrant issues is another party's “reckless spending”. In a Sept-ember 29 release, Vision Coun. Heather Deal noted: “In a time of fiscal uncertainty, the NPA is saddling us with unnecessary, exorbitant costs. Our budget is stretched to the max, and the NPA is refusing to exercise any sort of financial restraint.”

Vision Coun. George Chow told the Straight he was “surprised” by the tenor of Lee's comments.

“Even before I joined Vision Vancouver [in 2005], under former mayor Larry Campbell and [Vision Coun.] Raymond Louie, they had introduced the mayor's task force on immigration, and it was chaired by Louie [along with immigration lawyer Zool Suleman],” Chow said. “Now B.C. Lee is the chair, but for him to say we are anti-immigrant is irresponsible and ridiculous to me and further evidence that they really don't know what they're talking about....They cancelled the multilingual line [at the last budget round]””the line cost $8,000.”

Speaking to the Straight from City Hall, Lee stood by his comments.

“That was my impression, so I have no problem saying that,” Lee said. “I think 311 is a way to help immigrants have access to city services, and it's important for staff to finish the report. Then we will look at how the finances will be dealt with.”