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Surrey NDP Candidate Pulls Bridge Out From Under James

April 23, 2009

On the same day NDP leader Carole James tried to mislead voters that her party always supported the Port Mann bridge, a Surrey NDP candidate is calling for a "time out" on the project.

"It seems Pat Zanon didn't get the latest NDP spin on the Port Mann Bridge and reverted to the party's true position: opposing the bridge," says Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon. "It clearly shows how dishonest NDP leader Carole James and the NDP are being. On the same day James is trying to sell the fiction she supports the construction, her own members are still revealing to us that they don't support the plan, never have and never will.

For Carole James to continue this charade of mock support is insulting to voters and continues to show us how desperate they have become that they must result to this type of dishonesty."

Falcon was responding to Zanon's comments in today's Surrey Leader where Zanon was calling for a "time out" on the Port Mann crossing expansion for an indefinite period of time so that the entire project could be re-examined.

This is completely opposite to comments made by James on the CKNW leaders radio debate where she incredulously claimed that NDP had always supported the bridge proceeding. "Yes, it's important we have a crossing there. It's important that we look at the congestion that people are facing right now,"
she said.

Falcon says the facts clearly show Carole James and the NDP have never supported a new Port Mann Bridge and Zanon's comments reflect the NDP's true talking points.

"The NDP have never supported the Port Mann and British Columbians know that," says Falcon. "This 10-lane bridge will reduce commutes by up to 30 per cent, will help relieve the congestion that costs our economy $1.5 billion a year and will allow for bus service for the first time in 20 years. We believe it's the right bridge and the right time and we're going to build it."

Government announced transit and cycling on the new Port Mann on January 31,2006 and almost two years later James called it the "wrong bridge and the wrong plan" on September 27, 2007. Even after RapidBus was introduced as part of the project following consultation with 10,000 citizens, Carole James and the NDP voted against the Port Mann Twinning Act, on April 28, 2008, publically demonstrating their opposition to this project on record.

This is the fourth candidate in two days that has been revealed to directly contradict the NDP leader. Yesterday, two NDP candidates were revealed to secretly support Independent Power Projects in their ridings, despite Carole James' call for a moratorium on all projects. Earlier today, it was revealed that her Shuswap candidate was in favour of the carbon tax, despite Carole James' commitment to eliminate the tax.
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