6 - North Shore News - Wednesday. December 13, 2000 VIEW POINT: HE prime minister’s recent socialist long ball from left field should set alarm bells ringing on a hest of fronts. . News that Jean Chrétien plans to . institute.a cradle-to- grave guaranteed income for Canadians will come as a ‘surprise to anyone who followed the " gecent federal election campaign. | The guaranteed minimum income _ supplement would replace or merge such programs as employment i insur- | ance, Canada pension, child benefits and welfare. . _ It-has merit in principle. But exe- - eution of such a major social program. “ is another issue altogether. -4.\ts incursion into provincial wel- fare jurisdictions is but one of the omplications facing the plan. And, as with any government wel- . fare plan, its cost will be a key con- volunteers thanked Mosquito Cre event. We would like’to thank: you for informing the commu- ecent Mosquito Creek Park community event that cook’ place. ori ‘Thursday,’ Nov. 23. Despite the wet ‘weather, a number of residents were on hand to enjoy cake, ind ‘coffee’. generously donated by: Starbucks, during the the 17th Strect Trailhead. Interpretive Signage for.the park: Afterwards Al Jonsson of Fisheries and ada led a group on an informal guided tour of ’ the wool over the eyes of of the Official unveiling of ‘Ocean the recently completed salmonid enhancement project." t. the: Mosquito: Creek ‘17th © Greater Vancouver The: interpretive: kiosk ‘4 sideration. But, setting aside those complica- tions, the absence of any mention of a guaranteed income supplement dur- ing the federal election campaign should be a major to concern to all Canadians. The prime minister stated that he was calling the election far carlier than required because the govern- ment needed direction — from Canadians on how to invest Canada's budget surplus. Surely a program with such major potential social and economic reper- cussions for the country should have been on the table for public. debate and consideration. As it is, the cradle-to-grave: pro- gram is merely another example of Liberal disregard for public input on how this country should be run. - More regiona WELCOME to B.C.’s madcap ‘ comedy in’ which. the fail-phy taxpay- er bankrolls all manner of wacky transit capers, In today’s special flashback episede Oil “Can Harry look-a-like © :Glen Clark, playing the =: province's premier, pulls the gullible gang on the «: version of On The Buses - _ the marks the“ completion of Phase One of éihnents/ to ‘Mosquito! Creek Park. These. enhance-” meiits attempt-t0" balance the need to protect, the natural ithe ‘park, and ‘the. need ‘to upgrade : and ° ties for park users: On behalf of city.council, to.thenk those involved in the many improve-- ents to the :Mosqttito.Creek Park system, including the students at Westview elementary school for participating in the 4: unity planting event at. Mosquito Creek: : ho: have. participated | and: the various omponents of the pr Regional District (GVRD) board of diree- tors and leaves local taxpayers on the hook ~ for hundreds of millions of dollars. : «Ready laugh track. | - ~ First: a little background. - Your man Clark, who has a thing for over-the-top transportation mega-projects, .”- has another doozy on the go: the elevated SkyTrain rapid transit system, which was : first set in motion for Expo 86 to showcase “the technology to the world. * Object: big international sales. Reality: too expensive. ; But, as all Ox The Buses fans know, oF Cue laugh rack and run image of fall: suy taxpayer together with derisive horn ing down the SkyTrain track but that other transportation mega-project better known as the fast ferries is becoming a touch more "than distracting. SiyTrain funding is com: .; “jing up several hun ms million dollars hort. What to do? * " able coating of local transit control maybe they won't even look at the numbers attached to the care and feeding of the monstrous white ele- phant. And [ap it up they: did, courtesy of your GVRD boerd ef direc: tors who, back in © February 1998, approved the deal to transfer : regional transit responsi-,. bilities from the provin- cial government to the region. : Cue close-up of GVRD. board member asleep’ at» . the transit wheel. - Consider this plot twist: the deal that: delivered Translink to the hapless Lower Mainland taxpayer. immediately saddled the region — that’s tho hapless taxpayer again viewers will be excused if aes : re TransLink deal : ~ Insert laugh tack. -- 0 Funnier still: the figures projecting that © * debt weren’s hidden from the GVRD, but ‘the deal was approved anyway. .” “Cue loud snoring noises from th ~GVRD bus, Dolly in on NDP provincial °- government minions exchanging high fives. yt the late 90s, Oil Can Clark is steam- Mary _ being force-fed ever-growing vehicle levy. Run footage of bewildered taxpayer, Other plot lines revealed in future.On : ‘The Buses episodes: TransLink debt servic ing costs jump 41.2% from forecasts made’ - in January 1998 compared with thos: ; made in Apzil 2000; a $3 billion SkyTrain system that doesn’t even have turnstiles to accurately monitor use and i improve cost LETTERS 79 THE EDITGR miust include yoiir / fame, full address . and telephone number. — with a th a projected ‘debt of close to $I bil- : lion. Loc 4 ~ don’t recall politicians from the North Shore or any other. Lower Mainland =" - municipality saying much about that. °° “unfunded liability in any On The Buses: - episode leading up to “ SkyTrain cars are’ fast app’ transit |: recovery ‘from Users. : Meanwhile i in another On The Buses flashback: the taxpayer discovers an enligh’ ‘~ ening November. 1999 report prepared for the Independent Canadian Transit Unio! by Ron Stromberg and Sam Ahad. What Happened to the Bus Service In ” Greater Vancouver? points our, for exam: ple, that per-hour operating costs of the regional Vancouver transit system are far higher than thé average transit costs in -other large Canadian urban areas: $137 versus $85. Cost recovery from dershi fo th Service, meanwhile, is'31% in Vancouver ;: compared with an average 48% in the other. * cities. Rush hour bus service is likewise “Can Clark's eshte monster, which verts less than 2% of the region’s auto trips from local roads, continues to dev bscene amounts of tax dollars. “And will: On The Buses scripts. ..Don’t forget; for exam ple, | under construction; the 114 pec roaching aient age. Add another $41 million to. taxpayer tab. What a laugh, eh? Suggested scripts for future On : Buses episodes: hapless Lower Mainland taxpayer finally. blows a collective Vehicle levy, sparks mini-revolution. Government is toppled/New p - power in Victoria agrees t6 ‘take back: responsibility for the SkyTrain and We Coast Express transit extrava Sabmait via e-mall to: mbecker@nsnews.com tis9 Lonsdale Avenue, No Testy Patars ©: Editorial Manager