Everybody loves a public opinion poll, right?
Well, maybe not the Adrian Dix version of the B.C. NDP (little cheeky joke there for provincial politics watchers) and certainly not the Yes side that wants Metro Vancouver residents to support a 0.5 per cent tax hike to help pay for a $7.5 billion plan to cut congestion in the region.
You probably heard/read/saw the Insights West poll released Monday that showed the majority of 1,604 adult residents polled will mark a big X in the No box on their mail-in ballots.
This from Captain Obvious: That can’t be good for the Yes side.
To the results…
Two-thirds of No voters believe there are other ways to fund transportation projects and are concerned the proposed tax hike will probably increase over time. More than three in four No voters also say they have no confidence in TransLink to ensure transportation projects are implemented properly.
Interesting to me was the category of people “definitely” voting No (37 per cent), where 43 per cent of respondents were 55 or older. Of the “probably” voting No crowd (18 per cent), 15 per cent were 55 or older.
So that’s a lot of seniors.
“They no longer commute and they’re sitting at home thinking about the next 10 or 20 years of their lives and asking themselves if they’re going to vote to give themselves a tax hike,” explained Mario Canseco, Insights West’s vice-president of public affairs. “That’s one of the major problems [for the Yes side]. They really haven’t figured out how to crack that nut.”
On the topic of seniors, billionaire businessman Jimmy Pattison’s acceptance last week to head up a “public accountability committee” to ensure funds raised under the tax will go to specific projects didn’t exactly resonate with respondents: only three per cent of No voters said Pattison’s involvement would sway them to the Yes side.
Enough of that poll.
I’ve been conducting my own unscientific poll at coffee shops, on soccer fields, at ice arenas, on my street and over dinner with relatives in Vancouver and in the suburbs.
In no particular order, here’s the feedback:
• I never asked for a new Port Mann Bridge and now I have to pay a toll every time I cross it. I don’t remember a plebiscite on that. And why is it that my friends who can afford to go to Whistler every other weekend don’t have to pay a toll on that highway?
• I just read a story in my local paper saying my property taxes are going up. Now they want me to pay even more tax in a plebiscite. Are they nuts? How about spending some money to get rid of all these damn chafer beetles destroying my lawn.
• Yep, I get it. We have to pay now so we’re not stuck in Los Angeles-style gridlock in the future. I’m all for it. It makes sense. I actually read the plan. Have you read the plan? You should. Vote Yes, and please pass the potatoes.
• I don’t blame the mayors. It’s Christy Clark who called for this plebiscite. The mayors never wanted it. Conveniently, she and her government can stay in the shadows while mayors take on the unenviable task of urging people to pay more taxes. Nice one, Christy.
• A subway sounds good. More buses sounds good. But who’s going to be left in this city to use all this stuff? Nobody can afford to live here, anymore, especially all those young people.
• The Surrey mayor said she was going to build rapid transit, regardless of the results of the plebiscite. So why should I vote myself a tax increase in the meantime? Doesn’t make sense.
• Plebiscite, schmebiscite.
Ballots will be mailed out next week.
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