Gordon Campbell, House Flipper
Offer to buy power line homes is cynical, bad business.
Folks, the Campbell government seems intent on zapping itself right out of office.
I never thought I would see a government stick its finger in the electrical socket as the NDP did in 2000, but Gordon Campbell has lost it. And because he's made all the decisions himself, has no one to pass the blame to.
Let's see if I've got this right. The Campbell government gave the residents of Tsawwassen the finger (the politest metaphor I can think of) when those residents complained that BCTC overhead transmission lines exposed them to dangerous levels of electromagnetic radiation.
The government refused to properly bury them because that would have cost $18 million dollars. Then, under great pressure from homeowners and allies like Save Our Rivers (of which I am, unblushingly official spokesperson), former councillor Vicki Huntington (who is the best constituency politician I have ever met), the irrepressible civic activist Donna Passmore and far too many others to mention, the government did a flip-flop -- one that I found eerily reminiscent of former premier Ujjal Dosanjh daily dealings with his government's oopsie-daisies in the last year of his government.
And what a flip-flop! Just as the house market goes into the dumper, the Campbell government will buy the houses at fire sale prices, prices that will be on a take it or leave it basis.
Real estate buzz
Now here's the part that should have us all reaching for the barf bag. Campbell is going to unload these houses onto other British Columbia citizens who are so desperate to find an affordable house in this economy they'll buy one despite possible evidence of risk to their health, and that of their kids!
But this doesn't end the matter. How much money will new owners have to put down? This is a pretty important point lost, no doubt on the rich developers who run this province, because who'll give a mortgage on a house blighted and possibly contaminated by transmission lines in the backyard?
Will the government, which is to say you and me, give new owners a 100 per cent mortgage? Wasn't it sub-par mortgages that caused the about-to-be Depression we face?
The cynicism is disgustingly obvious. Campbell hopes that many of these homeowners, for many reasons, are unable to move so the government can say "well, we tried but they just wouldn't accept our generosity".
This leads to an obvious question -- if this buy-out costs around $70 million, how much of that will be recovered?
This leads to another obvious question: where is the Campbell government going to get the money?
We're talking here about the self-proclaimed paragons of fiscal virtue who tell us that thanks to their careful management of our resources, B.C. is in peachy shape to face the financial tsunami moving relentlessly towards us. Why, they say, thanks to our thrift, we've saved enough in good times to handle things with great public spending on needed infrastructure -- roads, school upgrades for earthquakes and so on. And of course enough money to buy up houses right under high voltage lines in Tsawwassen.
Dad, I'm broke
Unfortunately that claim has a bit of a flaw in it. Indeed an enormous flaw that will become more obvious every day that passes.
You see, the government has forgotten about what W.A.C. Bennett used to call "contingent liabilities." It's like you co-signing a bank loan or mortgage for one of your kids. As long as the loan is being paid, you don't count it as a liability on your own balance sheet. Put in technical terms, what happens when the money market collapses and your private sector partners get crapped on and your kids can no longer keep up their part of the bargain?
When you're sailing along, good money coming in, with tickets for Hawaii in hand, who worries about the kid's loan you've guaranteed? The premier, sailing along hand in hand with his private partners, was, figuratively speaking, in the land of palms and mai tais (perhaps an unfortunate simile given the premier's past visits to Hawaii) as the money rolled in and the markets climbed, as they were, of course, bound to do forever.
Trouble is, those rich private sector partners don't have any money any more and the situation is akin to the kid phoning up and saying, "Sorry Dad, I'm broke and the bank manager will be giving you a call."
Permit me to lapse into the technical again, folks. When the shit hits the fan, the markets crash, unemployment instantaneously zooms and capital dries up as developers lose their sources of money. The guy left holding the bag will often put the project on hold, awaiting better times and hoping new sources of money will come along. Sometimes new developers will come along. But here's the rub. Even if they do, the delays cost a huge amount to those holding the bag, that is to say the Campbell government.
How exposed are we, really?
We have, unfolding before our very eyes, an example of what happens. As we all know, the City of Vancouver entered a $100 million guarantee of the Olympic Village, the sales of which are simply not happening. In this regard, may I refer you to Miro Cernetig's excellent reporting of late in the Vancouver Sun. On Jan. 5, he examined this loan in detail and concluded "But people of Vancouver should stay alert. If things go sour [with the Olympic Village deal] they will be on the hook. City Hall has guaranteed hundreds of millions of dollars of those Olympic Village loans." (emphasis mine.)
How it goes from a "mere" $100 million we've been told about to several hundred million is dissected by Mr. Cernetig in this and another column and is guaranteed to make stomachs turn amongst Vancouver citizens.
One can assume that the same factors Cernetig outlines will apply to other government guarantees.
My research into funding of the 2010 Olympics led to this statement made many times: "The Province of British Columbia will be responsible for any cost overruns from the Games."
The questions for Premier Campbell are these: What is the extent of the province's "contingent liabilities?"
What is the state of each of them, i.e. are your partners in trouble?
After you do a real world assessment of "contingent liabilities," how much has the government really got left for priming the economic pump and getting people back to work?
What will the Olympic overruns be, given the economy?
In short, Mr. Campbell, give us a list of your P3s, your contingent liabilities, so we, the public, can all see just how much money you have left to prime the economic pump, get people back to work again, and buy up unwanted houses your government may have rendered unhealthy.
Rafe goofs!
In last week's column on Wendy and me getting out of the stock market, I inadvertently said it was in 2003. It was in fact 2005. I was thinking "three years ago," which became 2003 showing yet another reason we jumped ship -- I'm not good with simple number work!
BC's next energy minister?
I predict that our newly minted senator, Energy Minister Richard Neufeld, who knew nothing about the independent power policy and what he thought was right was wrong, will be replaced by Mike DeJong, who as a lawyer (as I once was) must concern himself more with presentation of the case than facts.
Related Tyee stories:
- Fortress, Backer of Key 2010 Sites, Is 'Teetering'
Olympic Village, Whistler mother company is 'tarnished' says Wall Street analyst. - Our Olympics, Outsourced
It's a global gold rush, and VANOC doesn't give B.C. firms any advantage. - Am I Paranoid?
Issues I fight for never seem to be 'news.' Wonder why?
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Luke Skywalker
11-01-2009
Argh... A Reality Check
Rafe, I've lived in Tsawwassen. Family and friends still reside there and I'm out there quite a bit. I never hear a peep about this issue from anyone. Tsawwassen currently has a population of ~23,000 and stretches from Boundary Bay, to Beach Grove, to Pebble Hill, to English Bluff, to Imperial Village.
The BC Hydro ROW and power-lines have been in place since 1955 running up to English Bluff. The homes adjacent to the ROW were constructed during the 1960's.
IMHO, the new steel poles are actually less visually obtrusive than those old, ugly, wooden, 4 side-by-side poles that were originally put in place.
The initial proposal to bury the power-lines along the same ROW was turned down by affected residents. They just wanted the power-line out of their backyards.
Passmore resides in either Surrey or Langley... not Tsawwassen! Is she part of the rent-a-crowd?
Another reality check:
People have bought and sold these homes with their huge backyards and adjacent BC Hydro power-line ROW since these houses were first constructed during the 1960's.
And why did people purchase these homes, with mortgages? Because of lifestyle and the park-like setting in their backyards.
And yes, I have known families with kids who resided alongside the same corridor over the years. Even know that one of these houses ran a pre-school for kids with the kids playing under the power-lines years back.
Nobody has ever cared or even batted an eye over the past few decades over the power-lines, except for apparently now.
Why??? With the power-lines potentially finally gone, after being erected in 1955, the value of the property would go up. There's the real reason!
And here is the wonderful backyard park-like setting of some of those homes along 53A St.:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Tsawwassen&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=28.749334,56.25&ie=UTF8&ll=49.028449,-123.074437&spn=0.002898,0.006866&t=h&z=17
zalm
11-01-2009
Eyes wide shut
"I never hear a peep about this issue from anyone. "
Seven articles in the last 90 days in the Delta Optimist? Half a dozen in the local rags? A rally of 2000 people at a school?
You simply aren't listening, and nobody can help you with that.
I'll be the first to admit there's more superstition than belief in the resistance of residents to burying the lines - Mother Earth shorts the lines of force of any powerful electric field as effectively as a concrete wall to a peashooter. If that weren't true, there would be a lot of three-headed monsters running around our own City - there's a tremendous number of HV 12.7kVA hydro bus ducts buried under city streets that either nobody but Hydro knows about or pays attention to. But we don't victimize people who believe in invisible gods, and we shouldn't victimize people who believe in invisible fields.
And as for mortgages.... well, as my dad always said, bank managers were the guys who graduated last in the class at university. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find some of them wearing tin-foil hats and living in Tsawwassen. I can see them not granting mortgages for any more than 65% value for so-called "problem properties" just as they do in Europe.
zalm
11-01-2009
Let me get this straight
Claim your property is devalued by new powerlines in your backyard?
Get a buy-out.
Claim your business has been ruined by a 90% decrease in traffic and customer related to a major construction project that closed your front door for more than a year and was advanced with outright lies? Provide proof of monetary loss?
Go whistle in the wind.
Huh. It's a wonder anybody would believe what Gordocchio would say next.
jrb
12-01-2009
dear editor
please give mr. mair less frequent assignments here and limit the length of his articles here more strictly.
i, for one, would like to see him practice his expository writing within, say, a personal blog.
i generally have nothing in particular against his viewpoints, but i much prefer hearing him voice them over the radio as part of a group discussion rather than having to hack my way through his slack and bloated prose.
BC Mary
12-01-2009
Complaint
Too many freakin' portraits of our glorious leader!
I can't take any more sightings!!!
Grumpy
12-01-2009
And now, here is the real story.............
.......the new power lines in Tsawwassen were replaced with much higher voltage lines to increase the export of power to the USA, via Port Angeles Wa.
With three power rights-of-ways through South Delta, the easiest and cheapest route was chosen and the replacement of the current structures commenced.
Both the MLA and Premier promised to 'underground' the lines before the last election but reneged on the promise, hence the protests.
The current 'Fencepost with hair' (MLA) is retiring and in the winds is Vickie Huntington who, as an independent, almost won the seat in the last election. The Liberal machine wants Vickie to run for them, but a poll showed that if Ms. Huntington were to run as an independent she would win hands down, but if she were to run for the Liberals, the NDP would have a good shot to win.
The house buy-out is a preelection gamble by a Premier and a Liberal machine which is on the edge of 'crapping out' to bribe Tsawwassen voters to vote Liberal.
Postscript: Susan Heyes, who is leading the charge for compensation for damages during cut-and-cover RAV construction along Cambie St., must be jumping for joy with this. If the government bails out Tsawwassen homeowners, then the precedent is made to help those financially crippled (as predicted by experts) by the City of Vancouver and TransLink that there is no precedent to compensate those hurt by public works.
Prediction: Lookout for a last minute bailout for those affected by RAV & cut and-cover construction, to the tune of $200 million, which just may push RAV over the the $3 million mark.
I told ya so!
Stump
12-01-2009
things change
"Nobody has ever cared or even batted an eye over the past few decades over the power-lines, except for apparently now."
I unearthed this quote on a recent archealogical dig in Italy from a pundit named Lukus Skywalkeri:
"Nobody complained for years about lead pipes in the vomitoriums, why are they all up in arms now?"
sunshine coast girl
12-01-2009
I'm really scared....
to find out when these guys are sent packing in May, exactly how bad of a financial situation they have left us in.
UnCivilizedEngineer
12-01-2009
Classic Nimbyism
This whole fiasco is ridiculous. If the NDP's plans went through in the late 90's they would have built a giant natural gas pipeline (Georgia Straight Crossing, GSX) to Duke Point to supply gas & electrical generation for Van Isl. Thankfully that was scuttled before it started.
The alternative was to replace the HVDC lines that cross the strait so that the Island's lights may remain on. These 'unfortunate' residents who voluntarily decided to move under powerlines are supposedly 'paying the price'. The new lines will produce less ground-level radiation than the old ones becuase of changes to design standards.
The only problem here is they keep bitching and people keep listening! The mock outrage and rent-a-mob mentality is getting tired - and it affects almost every project that well-meaning utilities and municipalities try to complete, from the small to the big. No one seems to be willing to face the fact that as populations grow, so does the need for infrastructure, and some people's toes are going to get stepped on along the way - it's reality.
If our society actually had any appreciation for the infrastructure that makes our way of life possible (that includes living in Tsawassen and commuting +- 100 km /day) I'd hope to see much different attitudes. Go travel to Mexico or somewhere even less fortunate where electricity is a privelege that is often only enjoyed for a couple of hours a day - see how much they complain about some new powerlines.
And Grumpy - nice conspiracy theory but the only way power flows to the states is through Blaine WA and in the interior.
G West
12-01-2009
Ummm
Nimby is as nimby does I'd say.
Given the fact that the RAV line is being built down Cambie rather than along the Arbutus corridor where it belongs I'd say that a few people who don't want HV lines in their back yard had every 'right' to complain.
The real problem here is that the Campbell forces don't listen to anyone but their close personal friends except in the 6 months prior to an election.
As for the comparison with Mexico, it's entirely inappropriate as is the implicit suggestion that electric generating capacity expansion ISN'T being done with the export market in mind.
That, in the end, is the real problem. i do agree with you that the gas pipeline to the Island is well put behind us.
You might also want to look at this study:
Journal of Epidemiology
Vol. 14 (2004) , No. 4 pp.118-123
This summary:
http://www.revolt.co.uk/trentham/shrisk1.html
This specific study:
http://www.cairngormsagainstpylons.org/pdf/health_risks.pdf
And this: BCMJ Vol. 50, No. 9, November 2008, page(s) 494—BC Centre for Disease Control
While there seems little doubt that the risk is small, there is NO DOUBT that the decision to place this new and upgraded HV line in the chosen location - given the fact that other alternatives were available - was foolish and cavalier. Especially in view of the objections to the action - and the way they were responded to early on before the construction phase actually began.
It is, however, highly typical of the approach this government has taken virtually every time financial interests came into conflict with moral interests and citizens' interests and views. As is the decision, at this late date, to put something on the table now to ameliorate the damage already done.
Luke Skywalker
12-01-2009
Grumpy...
The facts man. The facts!
Those folks in the houses situate along the existing BC Hydro power-line and ROW were against placing the upgraded transmission lines underground! Period.
They wanted the power-lines along a new ROW toward the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal or Roberts Bank, outside Tsawwassen. Why? 'Cause of the larger backyards and no more power-lines. Simple as that.
Again, the facts man. The facts.
The riding of Delta South combines both Ladner and Tsawwassen. Pre-2005 there was a big brouhaha over the cutbacks to Delta Hospital and, as a result, there was a Re-call Val Roddick campaign, which was almost successful. (Delta Hospital now is a non issue)
That galvanized Vicki Huntington, daughter of former PC MP Ron Huntington, to run as an independent. Those same dynamics no longer exist in the riding. Still a Liberal hold.
To say that the NDP has a good shot of winning the riding is akin to saying the NDP has a good shot of winning Richmond seats, South Surrey-White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, etc. Doesn't make any political sense in a small "c" conservative riding.
BTW, the NDP had its third worst showing in Delta South during the 2005 election, finishing in a dismal 76th position out of 79 seats.
UnCivilizedEngineer:
Makes sense. 1955 design standards v. today's design standards in any arena are like night and day.
G West
12-01-2009
Luke
Have you actually 'read' the health data?
Childhood leukemia incidence is raised for residences w/in 200m of a HV line - and probaly for w/in 600m.
I hope you're going to buy one of these homes and move in...you're welcome to it.
Luke Skywalker
12-01-2009
g west... For Once You're Right!
But we're talkin' about the NDP, right?
Skywalker
12-01-2009
Rafe over the detractors any day.
I would rather read Rafe's contributions on this sight than those of his regular detractors. I don't need to mention names. When the usual contributors come out with their rosy picture of Campbell or down play an issue around hydro lines which has been accepted for more than two decades, it all gets pretty tiresome.
Luke doesn't seem to understand that there are issues where the public's needs override the individual's but never in the case of a health issue. Then the focus is on the manner in which it is dealt with. Rafe paints a pretty clear picture on how slippery is Campbell's handling of this. The term eyes wide shut is right on.
mcdull
12-01-2009
Hydro
Just remember to check your hydro bill now it is two tier.Mine without electric heat is up about 30 dollars. Oh and remember it is to go up again. Green,hell no! grab at the ordinary persons tax cuts oh yes. Revenue neutral. NEVER. $26 dollars in green taxes on last oil fill. Definitely more than the 100 dollars paid to date.
G West
12-01-2009
luke
Nope!
You know exactly who I mean...the moral failure of Gordon Campbell makes whatever shortcomings any (and perhaps all) other governments of this province in the last 50 years may have entertained pale by comparison.
The blue ribband goes to Gordon Campbell, CEO.
Gordon_Ramble
12-01-2009
The BC Liberals are finished if they
The BC Liberals are finished if they bail-out the Olympic Village deal on the backs on BC taxpayers.
If my South-Surrey tax dollars go to bailing out poor (and possibly corrupt to the core) Vancouver real estate deals... the shiet will fly.
Luke Skywalker
12-01-2009
Quarry Bay...
Get your facts straight man... the facts.
Roberts Bank Superport was constructed circa 1968. During the early 1980's the width of the causeway was doubled and the number of pads was quadrupled. Nobody ever complained. Besides, RBS is situate kilometres away from English Bluff, the tip of Tsawwassen, and it's a major Delta employer.
The only complaints that I've heard over the years was small amounts of alleged coal dust on outdoor patio furniture. I never sweat the small stuff.
So the NDP approved the Tsawwassen FN deal removing ALR lands. Does that mean the people of Delta South are gonna vote NDP? Nonsense.
And the SFPR is gonna skirt right behind industrial properties adjacent to Burns Bog, which is situate in east Delta. I can tell ya that most people look forward to it being constructed in South Delta so they have much better/quicker access to the Fraser Valley/the Interior. Hwy 10/Glover Road is a time-consuming pain in the arse. BTW, the SFPR is the brainchild of the NDP. Go figure.
That's like sayin' the Liberals are finished in West Vancouver. Ain't gonna happen. Remember the loud protests against the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal expansion???
And the loud protests against the Eagle Ridge highway construction???
There's always a silent majority and a vocal minority in every area.
Apparently, ya also haven't done much of an analysis on the new electoral boundaries for the 85 seats. Transposed over 2005 results, the Libs would have garnered seats in the low 50s while the NDP would have garnered seats in the low 30s. And the Mustel numbers heading into 2005, compared to now, were much more dismal for the Libs. But that's a topic for another day.
Susan
12-01-2009
Cambie powerline runs to Premier's office....
The Province seems to balk at appearing to set some sort of precedent for compensation when their projects cause unmitigated harm - but it's happening all the time when and where they so choose.
Our Premier immediately doled out $56 million to the ONE BILLION DOLLAR over budget Canada Line, when they gambled away their operating funds in the sub prime market, then needed money to complete the project - yet no gold for the families who this project has devastated for three years.
Campbell has decided to compensate the homeowners in Delta - even though they lost their court challenge - by buying up their votes....er, homes that people knowingly purchased at a reduced rate under a powerline, AND offered to pay their legal fees and moving expenses. The Province should have listened to the concerns of the impacted community, and taken heed of the data about health risks. Burrying the power cables would have cost $20 million. Now he's happy to pay off the homeowners in Delta with $70 million in taxpayer funds to appease the voters before the May election.
The Province is coming to the rescue after the Act of God in Chilliwack, where families were blindsided by severe flooding - yet in Cambie, this Act of Gord that has blindsided families with financial drought for over three years still leaves us eating RAV dust.
Campbell and Company saw fit to offer $20+ million in compensation to First Nations for a 'perceived loss' to their fishing rights under the Canada Line bridge over the Fraser River, while small businesses remain on the hook for actual loss and crippling debt due to customers being diverted away from accessing their businesses along the line for several years.
The government provided compensation for businesses in New Westminster who were affected by the construction of the SkyTrain-Expo Line guideways. The property was not being expropriated - it was the disruption caused by the construction that was being compensated for. One of the businesses was a BMW dealership. Bob Tribe, now a director of Translink, a former VP for SNC Lavalin and former senior exec for BC Transit, should remember the BMW deal.
The Province seems hell bent on keeping their lawyers and ad campaign staff rolling in dough, rather than providing adequate financial relief for fatal harm to livelihoods caused by their pet project, the Canada Line.
It will take us years to dig out from under the Canada Line snow job, unless the Province and all their corporate partners compensate us immediately for this unprecedented harm.
It is the reasonable thing to do - and we deserve it.
North of Hope
12-01-2009
Thank you Susan
Thank you Susan for getting the "conversation" back on track and to the point. Campbell and the BC Liberals screwed this issue. It will cost millions more because of his stupid handling of this file. That is the issue that this article is all about and that is why he should be thrown out of office. he is out of touch with the people of the province and he has clearly demonstrated that he doesn't have a clue how to run the province.
The BC Liberals blamed all that went wrong in the 90's on the NDP because they were in power. Now it is time for Campbell and the BC Liberals to take responsibility for all that goes wrong for their time in power.
Luke Skywalker
12-01-2009
Frank...
Ya know that I'm a political junkie, right?
Alright. Here's a taste of some other ridings with transposed 2005 results from another political website, which you might be able to make some sense of:
Burnaby-Willingdon (now Burnaby-Dear Lake):
http://bc2009.com/ridings/Burnaby-Deer%20Lake/
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows:
http://bc2009.com/2009/01/11/analysis-of-maple-ridge-pitt-meadows/
Kamloops Ridings:
http://bc2009.com/2008/08/17/kamloops-electoral-boundary-changes/
I'm not going to link to everything on the 'net. That's for later. ;)
Stump
12-01-2009
Dear Lake
Is that the debt we'll be swimming in by the time the Liberals get the boot?
dave49
13-01-2009
The real estate effect of EMF
Years ago, someone from BC Hydro visited one of my classes at SFU and talked about the EMF issue.
As I recall, they looked at research where homes near power lines were bought and put back on the market at a lower price. What occurred over several years was that the so-called 'discount' in property value attributed to the power lines disappeared and the houses sold for the same amount as similar houses NOT near power lines.
Apparently, based on this research, BC Hydro chose not to compensate for claims of EMF-related property value decrease.
dave49
13-01-2009
The root of the EMF controversy
The whole EMF controversy has unusual origins.
A low-level study that normally points the epidemiological community to areas requiring more research leaped into the mainstream media.
The research in this area has been controversial from the beginning. The fact that science journalism is poorly-regarded in the journalism hierarchy at major daily newspapers does not help. News gathering and assembling techniques only go so far when you wade into some of these very technical, complex and controversial issues.
Note that a transmission technology called HVDC (High VOltage Direct Current) is being used more and does not produce EMF because EMF only occurs in AC (Alternating Current) transmission.
dave49
13-01-2009
zalm
"Claim your business has been ruined by a 90% decrease in traffic and customer related to a major construction project that closed your front door for more than a year and was advanced with outright lies? Provide proof of monetary loss?"
I live near Canada Line construction on Cambie Street. THe last three times I went to the Park Theatre there were six people in the audience. Last week for the first time in several years, I saw a movie at the Fifth Avenue cinemas, also part of the Festival Cinemas group owned by Leonard Schein. Fifth Avenue was packed, every 7:00 o'clock show was sold out when we bought tickets early for the 9:30 show. When we got our seats for the late show it was clear it was also sold out.
So. Mr. Schein has numbers and I recently heard a media story suggest a $200,000 loss. Similarly, Susan Heyes of Hazel & Company has numbers on her losses. Problem is, Gordo and Co. don't want to compensate. It would set a precedent for future expansions of our over-priced SkyTrain technology. Think about all those merchants on Broadway in Vancouver...
dave49
13-01-2009
North of Hope
"The BC Liberals blamed all that went wrong in the 90's on the NDP because they were in power. "
When I moved to Vancouver in 88, the Socreds were STILL blaming everything they could on Dave Barrett's NDP government. In central and Eastern Canada, a politician could not get away with blaming their problems on a regime that had been in power more than a dozen years earlier. However, BC is another story. It IS acceptable. I don't understand it, but that's the way it is in this 'fantastic' province.
zalm
13-01-2009
Dave49
Well met, neighbour. I live close by too, and have been helping keep my Thai buddy's restaurant afloat. But I tell you, they've not seen any upswing. They're out of money, and I won't say more, because it's pretty shocking, at least to me. They've got that Abu Grub look in their eyes.
You know who doesn't know the first thing about running a popsicle stand? Gordo.
Fish-counter
14-01-2009
What about the Cambie Street businesses?
The folks in Tsawassan bought their homes knowing where the power line was; they get no sympathy from me. As a matter of fact, some BCTC r-o-w's are prime recreational areas for walking and mountain biking, which is a public benefit. They can also be prime dirt bike and ATV trails, which is a problem.
The folks who earn a living on Cambie were treated like dirt. Some of those businesses are out of pocket by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some have gone broke. This is a political move to save a seat and it is ill-conceived.