Greedy Christy Clark regime tries to loot freelance writer Bob Mackin

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      The headline above sounds brutal, but it's fairly accurate when you consider that freelance journalists have to make a living by their wits.

      One of the best in the business, Bob Mackin, wanted to find out more about the premier's plans for a $3-billion bridge to nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere—just to connect farmland in Delta to farmland in Richmond, all for the glory of future real-estate speculators who contribute to the B.C. Liberals.

      Mackin reports on his blog that he filed a request for the business case for the bridge.

      He was told there were 60 pages of records.

      And if he wanted to see them, it would cost $126.

      "I am a frequent requester via FOI and never has a government of any level in Canada asked me to pay so much for so little," Mackin writes on his blog. "What is going on?"

      It sounds like coverups on this future boondoggle have already begun before the first contract has even been awarded.

      Comments

      13 Comments

      Shepsil

      Nov 5, 2013 at 11:15pm

      Smoke and mirrors are required when those in power cannot be transparent with what they don't know. On the news today, Clark suggested that our LNG industry could or would be worth a trillion dollars soon. If everyones expectations of wealth can be met? But those expectations are based on a best case scenario, more commonly known as greed.

      They built the Golden Ears bridge based on land for real estate speculation on the other side of the river in Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows. Now that bridge sits underused due to unsustainable tolls and not yet enough people willing to pay.

      They built the new Port Mann and are now talking about replacing the Pattelo Bridge and the Massey Tunnel, but there is still no money for transit. Less people can afford to drive from the suburbs due to double the fuel prices of 10 years ago, but Port Metro Vancouver needs to replace the tunnel and Clark & BC Libs are happy to accomodate the Port's own pipe dream of world dominance and still a shortage in transit moneys.

      Clearly the Liberals think they can use smoke and mirrors to get whatever they want. Thanks to decent journalists like Bob Mackin and you Charlie, they hopefully won't.

      smallbits

      Nov 5, 2013 at 11:39pm

      Hasn't the FOI regarding the provincial contract with IBM been tied up for about a decade now?

      Andrew Drouin

      Nov 5, 2013 at 11:39pm

      The more I learn about BC's current government, the less I trust them... and that's just plain sad considering that we're living in one of the best provinces in Canada - itself one of the most cival & educated countries in the world.

      Andrew

      Dave

      Nov 6, 2013 at 7:30am

      @Shepsil - kind of like how the Dippers built Duke Point - so NDP insiders could profit on land they owned in the area. Now it costs taxpayers $30 million a year in upkeep. Perhaps the quote should read "we have seen the enemy and it is our government, no matter who's in charge."

      Really?

      Nov 6, 2013 at 9:21am

      The middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere? That's just typical Vancouver elitist rhetoric. The population the Massey tunnel serves is almost equivalent to that of Vancouver proper. It's also the fastest growing region in the Lower Mainland. And the lefties wonder why they can't ever get elected.

      B

      Nov 6, 2013 at 10:57am

      Really, the traffic volume in the massey tunnel has been flat or down for a decade.

      This was also true of the Port Mann bridge, and lo and behold, there has been no increase in volume since the new bridge opened. It was a gigantic waste of taxpayer dollars.

      This same pattern is occurring south of the border - it's based on the idea that VMT (vehicle miles travelled) will keep on going up. But it isn't true. VMT peaked and began to fall in about 2005, all over the developed world.

      B

      Nov 6, 2013 at 1:59pm

      @@B

      I was talking about traffic volumes, not congestion levels.

      And if you look at TomTom's data, Vancouver's "congestion" score is roughly the same as seattle, and is mostly high due to congestion on "non highways". The score for "highways" is about average.

      B

      Nov 6, 2013 at 2:07pm

      @@B

      And I'd like to add, there is nothing at your link or the TomTom site about "congestion has skyrocked over the last few years". There is a single data point. There is no trend given. It appears that you completely made that up.

      Perhaps you can find a source to link to.

      John W.

      Nov 6, 2013 at 2:38pm

      Shepsil, If our LNG industry could earn a trillion dollars, what will be left of north-eastern BC after we plunder it? What about the people who live there and the environment? Has it dawned on anyone that this means destroying our "backyard".

      I heard a claim that to earn that much money, we would have to frack an area the size of France. Still trying to find the source for that.

      Let's take our foot off the accelerator and slow this whole LNG business down to something we can understand.