THE NDP said on Thursday that BC Conservative Leader John Rustad’s plan doesn’t include a single dollar to pay for the ongoing SkyTrain extension to Langley, or his promise to expand it to Newton. He couldn’t answer questions from reporters about the cost of that or  any of the projects he’s promising. That’s because he’s not planning to actually build them – just like before.

The NDP noted that when Rustad was a BC Liberal MLA in 2008, he promised to extend the SkyTrain out into Surrey and Langley. Rustad and the BC Liberals completely abandoned that promise. Premier David Eby and the Surrey team of BC NDP MLAs are getting the project done.

“John Rustad promised to build SkyTrain in Surrey before, and he broke that promise to the people of Surrey,” said BC NDP candidate Jagrup Brar. “After he abandoned Surrey before – why would we believe him now?”

The NDP said that people need action now and David Eby and the BC NDP are taking action to build the transit that people in Surrey need today. Work on the Surrey-Langley Skytrain is underway and Eby has announced the BC NDP will build Bus Rapid Transit from Surrey Centre through Newton to White Rock, along King George Boulevard. This new dedicated rapid transit lane can be built much more quickly, and allows future development of fixed rapid transit such as light rail transit or SkyTrain.

“Once again, John Rustad is making promises to Surrey that he has no plan to keep,” said Brar. “If anything, his plan to cut spending shows that he’ll cancel or delay projects like the Surrey-Langley Skytrain. That’s a risk people in Surrey can’t afford.”