To the editor:
Re: “Court sides with B.C. Teachers’ Federation on bargaining,” Jan. 28.
The provincial government can’t afford the $1 billion it predicts it would cost to honour a court case it lost to B.C. teachers, says the education minister.
I have good news for the B.C. government. You can honour your commitment not only to the court, but also to the children of B.C. and even save money in the process.
The provincial government seems hell bent on spending $3 billion dollars to build an underground subway from Commercial to UBC.
What transit and planning experts are telling us is that we can create other much more affordable and more neighbourly transit options for this route.
A surface light rail such as they have in Minneapolis would cost $1.2 billion for the Broadway Corridor here. An even better option is to go to a tram system such as the one they have in Barcelona, where the cost for Broadway would be only $300 million.
This latter option is a much more human scale one that doesn’t devastatingly disrupt local communities as we have seen happen along Cambie. It also enhances rather than destroys existing local businesses.
So, B.C. government, go for a more affordable and more community enhancing transit option and put the money saved back into our education system! In doing so you have a win-win situation both for transit for the Broadway Corridor and for our children’s educational future.
Let’s not waste more tax dollars on a court case that you will once again lose.
Mel Lehan,
Vancouver
