To the editor:
Re: “TransLink solution remains stalled out,” Jan. 31.
Allen Garr’s article really needed more ink and space to explain how dysfunctional TransLink’s corporate governance structure is to the future of Metro Vancouver.
There is a total lack of transparency between the political and the economic powers with the result that the taxpayers are not getting value for their money, that is economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. When pushed into correcting their ways, TransLink could only muster efficiency and effectiveness in their advertising.
This veneer of good governance was ripped off with recent reports by the auditor general of B.C. and the comptroller general of B.C. on TransLink. There are no valid sustainable environmental assessments for the various major projects which is required in order to obtain federal funding.
What does happen is that the economic powers go behind closed doors to map out indirect subsidies to industry. For instance, the Port of Metro Vancouver wants to build a coal dock on the Fraser River.
In order to achieve this, the federal chartered organization wants TransLink to build a bridge and replace the Deas Tunnel. In B.C., public highways are paid for by the province out of general revenue while public transit must be paid for by the municipalities of Metro Vancouver.
How is this project’s process achieved?
The board chair of TransLink, Marcella Szel, is also a member of the board of directors of Port Metro Vancouver. She was previously vice-president of CP Rail and “extensively involved in the…Coal Association of Canada” according to her curriculum vitae posted on
TransLink’s and Port Metro Vancouver’s websites.
Who does she represent in this proposal? Not the citizens of Metro Vancouver who want value for money management that is environmentally sustainable.
Chris Shelton,
Vancouver
