Metro Vancouver mayors have voted in favour of asking voters whether they would support a 0.5% regional sales tax to raise funds for transit improvements across the region.
TransLink’s Mayors’ Council met December 11 to hear from the public and to vote on the referendum question.
The province has required the 21-member Mayors’ Council to hold a referendum on any new fee or tax to fund additional transit infrastructure for Metro Vancouver. Last June, the mayors signed off on a $7.5 billion plan that included rapid rail for Surrey, a subway along part of the Broadway Corridor for Vancouver and the replacement of the Patullo Bridge.
The referendum question reads:
“Do you support a one half percentage point (0.5%) increase in the Provincial Sales Tax in Metro Vancouver, dedicated to the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan, with independent audits and public reporting?”
The question now requires the approval of the provincial government.
A coalition of business, labour and environmental groups has formed to champion the “yes” side for the referendum.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Iain Black, president and CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade, of the diversity of the coalition.
“I would suggest that the last time you may have seen this kind of convalescing of effort was around Expo ’86, and I would suggest this is as relevant a generational decision as the impact of Expo ’86.”
Black said he expected more organizations to join the effort in the near future.
“It’s early days,” he said.
More to come
@jenstden
