THE NDP slammed BC Liberal leadership hopeful Kevin Falcon for saying on Friday he will scrap all work done on the replacement for the Massey Tunnel if he is elected premier, effectively sending this critical infrastructure project back to the drawing board.

Speaking to a Surrey radio station, Falcon said he would put a halt to all work following the next provincial election, slated for the fall of 2024: “I want everyone to hear this, this is very important, if I become leader of the BC Liberal Party…that tunnel is going to get cancelled if we form government.” (audio file)

According to the NDP, during the same interview, Falcon also misled listeners regarding several important issues regarding the project.

• Falcon said the Liberals did not propose a toll bridge. But the toll proposal was announced in a government news release that was covered extensively by media outlets including the Victoria Times-Colonist and CBC.
• Falcon also misled listeners when he suggested only a few mayors were opposed. In reality, the entire Metro Vancouver Board of mayors rejected the project. The project was so controversial that Christy Clark announced she would launch further consultations in the 2017 Clone Speech.
• Although he has changed his tune, Falcon was the original proponent of twinning the tunnel when he was Transportation Minister. He’s now threatening to cancel the project supported by local mayors, First Nations, and commuters.

Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, said: “From day one, the BC Liberals played politics with the Massey tunnel project. They tried to bully area mayors into building a massive toll bridge that didn’t serve their communities’ needs. And now that we have a solution that all the mayors are happy with, Kevin Falcon wants to turn back the clock and cause further delays. Kevin Falcon would be yet another BC Liberal Leader our province simply cannot afford.”