Dear Premier Campbell,
As we are approaching the 2009 provincial election, it seems very likely that the BC Liberals will remain in power for another term, and that you will continue to be premier. As a citizen and student of public policy, I think your government has made some positive changes and decisions, including implementing a carbon tax.
I would ask you to please urgently consider for the next BC Liberal government, appointing a new Transportation Minister. Under the leadership of Kevin Falcon, the provincial transportation agenda has been moving backwards in dangerous, outdated directions, including fiscally and environmentally irresponsible plans to expand highways and bridges and to build a highway through environmentally sensitive land (the SFPR). To add insult to injury, Mr. Falcon has prevented Translink from raising the revenue it so desperately needs in the Lower Mainland, where public transportation is oversubscribed and need is growing.
A dramatic change in provincial transportation strategy would leave behind these outdated ideas and rethink the transportation priorities in a time of peak oil, climate change, and financial uncertainty. A responsible transportation minister would invest the funds saved by cancelling the Gateway Program in greatly improved public transportation (which would also fulfill the goal of decreasing congestion) and in rebuilding and modernizing BC's aging rail infrastructure.
Thank you for your attention to this very urgent issue. Kevin Falcon's priorities are dangerously out of touch with the current needs of British Columbians, and the BC Liberals can do better.
Sincerely,
Ranty McRantsalot