Liberal leader Christy Clark showed up in Burnaby to cast her vote on Wednesday, but she may have spoiled her ballot. Clark initially voted for herself, but then realized she's not running in her own riding, so she asked for her ballot back and wrote Margaret MacDiarmid's name as well. MacDiarmid is running for the Liberals in Vancouver-Fairview, where Clark lives. Elections B.C.'s position is that the voter's intent must be clear. If it isn't, the ballot is spoiled.
Realtors say transfer tax is top issue
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has issued a press release stating the property transfer tax is a top election issue.
The board has launched a campaign to bring people's attention to the issue and is asking the government to reduce the tax.
"Our goal is to send a strong message to this year's candidates that it's long overdue for government to reduce the burden of the (tax) on home buyers," board president Sandra Wyant said in the release.
The province introduced the tax 26 years ago. It was structured to add one per cent on the first $200,000 of the purchase price, and two per cent on the balance.
To support the campaign, go to the Facebook page, help reduce the ptt. For more information about the campaign, go to helpreducetheptt.ca.
Pipeline confusion
All four Burnaby-North candidates spoke about the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline on the Bill Good radio show on CKNW earlier this week. The issue proved slippery, with some confusion about the actual location of the pipeline.
Burnaby-North Liberal candidate Richard Lee stated the pipeline doesn't go through the riding, but he was refuted on that by B.C. NDP candidate Janet Routledge.
Lee later clarified that a branch of the pipeline, which carries crude oil to the Chevron refinery, does go through Burnaby North, but the primary Kinder Morgan line - the one that carries bitumen - goes to Westridge Terminal in the neighbouring riding of Burnaby-Lougheed.
The Burnaby NOW has launched an election section on our website. To find all of our election stories and videos, go to www.burnabynow.com and click on the News tabs, then select B.C. Election from the drop down menu. To see all of our video interviews with local candidates, go to our YouTube channel by searching "The Burnaby NOW" at Youtube.com.
