April 30, 2007

I have spent much of my time since getting elected traveling the roadways of Malahat Juan de Fuca.  Ours is a sprawling and diverse constituency, and the question I hear most of all is, "What are we to do about transportation in our rapidly growing communities?"  If I have heard it once I have heard it a hundred times.  People from Cowichan Bay to Port Renfrew and every highway bound community in between are recognizing that the oil economy and the way we are developing our communities and infrastructure require immediate and serious attention.

The fundamental challenge we must meet to effectively move people in the region is to address the morning and evening commutes.  The commuters start west of Sooke and north of the Malahat and they all arrive at the Colwood Interchange at about the same time that the traffic from View Royal and Saanich merge at Portage Inlet.  So do we widen the funnel at the top and sides to cram even more cars into the core, or do we start immediately to provide real options for mass transit and start shaping our growth and increasing our densities to suit the rail and rapid bus corridors?

For most the answer is self-evident.  Senior levels of government need to encourage transit, not with lip service, but with financial resources.  To get people to leave the car at home or the park and ride government must develop alternatives that the public will respond to.  Local governments must plan development that encourages a change in our current transportation culture and the rail corridors of the past pose the best solution for our future.

Price Gouging by Oil Companies Helps Share Holders, not Consumers.

Every other week we see gas prices increase without explanation.  Like the majority of Canadians, British Columbians believe they are being gouged by big oil.  Drivers know they are being hosed at the pumps and they want answers.

That is why I tabled a private member's bill to regulate prices and protect consumers.  The maritime provinces already regulate prices and there is no reason why we could not do the same.  The BC Utilities Commission already regulates electricity and natural gas.  Why not have the BCUC review other energy commodities?

While drivers in the south Island are paying $1.23 a litre our fellow citizens in Toronto are paying $1.04.  "Gas prices are complicated" says the Minister of Energy, "You have to let the market take care of things".  So far the market has produced record high profits for the increasingly concentrated oil and gas sector and more price inflation for consumers.  Those profits are coming straight out of our pockets.

Don't we need to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels?  I agree wholeheartedly, but we need to provide options for commuters and those that need to travel as part of their work.  How do we accomplish this public policy outcome by turning a blind eye to oil industry greed?  Last time I checked, Exxon Mobil was looking to fund science that refutes climate change, not offering solutions.  Nor do I recall Chevron or Petro Canada investing in transit services in the lower mainland or commuter rail on Vancouver Island.

Washington State recently launched an inquiry into gas prices.  The review will be run by the Governor's Office, the Attorney General and the Consumer Protection Branch.  Why can't the Campbell government respond in a similar fashion?  I wrote to our Attorney General calling for similar action here in British Columbia.  So far no answer.

We need an inquiry into price gouging and we need it now!