Expensive Lower Mainland projects like the Broadway expansion need to be paid for and there won’t be the funds available if resource sector projects don’t get permission to proceed, says former NDP Premier Dan Miller.
Miller, who has worked in the resource sector since leaving office, published a column in The Province championing the economic benefit mining and oil and gas:
While it should be fairly clear to readers that Vancouver is, in fact, resource-dependent, sadly it’s not clear at all.
So it’s ironic that Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson would support a motion banning the handling, storage and trans-shipment of coal at Vancouver’s marine terminals and berths, while on the other hand he asks senior governments to pony up perhaps a billion dollars to dig a tunnel down the Broadway corridor to help solve the city’s traffic congestion.
Granted, no coal currently moves through Vancouver, so his ban is largely symbolic. But where will the provincial and federal governments find the revenue for a costly tunnelling project if Robertson’s proposed ban on coal were to spread beyond his borders to neighbouring municipalities, where such a ban would have a crippling impact on public revenues?
Dan Miller was the NDP’s interim leader after the resignation of Glen Clark. He was originally elected as MLA for Prince Rupert in 1986. Miller has worked in the resource sector since leaving office.
Former NDP premier Mike Harcourt quit the BC NDP two months ago stating that it has failed to find accommodation between rural and urban areas.
Image of miniature gold mining from Suspecto
