On Monday morning, Transportation Minister Mary Polak made an announcement that the provincial government will work with the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation to help fix transit - but Burnaby's mayor says it's all politics.
Polak said the province and council will have new transit funding ideas and governance options for TransLink done by this fall, in time for legislative changes in spring 2014.
"The recent independent TransLink Governance Review points out there is more right than there is wrong with TransLink," Polak said. "Together with Mayor (Richard) Walton and Mayor (Wayne) Wright I have developed a solid process that will outline findings and recommendations on how to move forward on TransLink governance and funding."
But Mayor Derek Corrigan, who also serves on the Mayor's council, said her announcement was "disingenuous to say the least."
"It's another meaningless announcement from a lame duck minister, who really doesn't have much to contribute and hasn't shown any interest in working with (the Mayors' Council)," Corrigan said.
In Polak's April 8 announcement, she said the government will support funding tools that are affordable for families, are regionally sourced, avoid negative effects on the economy and capture benefits from the substantial investments made in Metro Vancouver's transportation system.
According to Corrigan, Polak has rejected all the latest suggestions made by the Mayors' Council.
"They've rejected every suggestion we've made so far," he said. "To make noises about this is utterly hypocritical. Many ministers have rejected every opportunity we had to find some funding mechanism that would work."
He said the issue has been going on for many years - when Gordon Campbell was premier - and "nothing ever happens."
"It's an effort by this government to try to alleviate some of the pressure," he said, "in failing to do anything for the last six years."
"I think they felt the heat, (Polak) felt the heat," he said. "She was pretty arrogant in her responses prior to this."
But Mayor Walton said he is confident in this renewed support and focus by the province.
"(It) will enable us to find solutions that will address the funding and governance challenges we are facing," he said in a media release. "There is no doubt that an effective and efficient transit service is a critical part of our transportation system, an important contributor to our economy and good for our environment."
Recently, the mayors' council heard the outcome of its TransLink Governance Review. TransLink's governance was compared to others like it in the world and was found to be both unique and flawed.
It found that while local transit is state of the art, the system itself is unaccountable and there is a lack of transparency with a private TransLink Board.
"TransLink is seen as disconnected from the remainder of the region's governance," the review, released last month, states. "Few of the respondents believe that the current structure has improved decision-making or efficiency."
In Polak's announcement, she touched on the review and noted that in 2012, TransLink made substantial cost savings, but the region still needs new funding sources to expand service and growing demand.
