[LabComm] PRESS RELEASE: July 24 re: CUPE hails end to private Coquihalla deal

[Harprit Khaira]

Hi All:

Please find attached the above noted press release.

Attention BC Division:  Lori...please post to the web.

Area Office Support Staff:  Please distribute.

BC Regional Staff:  Hard copy is in your in-tray.


In Solidarity,

Harprit Khaira, Opeiu 491
Secretary, BCRO Communications




CUPE hails end to private Coquihalla deal

BURNABY – Finally, a decision from the Campbell Liberals that makes sense
for communities, CUPE says about the shelving of the Coquihalla highway
sale.

“Now let’s make the right decision for communities about the RAV, B.C. Rail,
B.C. Hydro, Abbotsford hospital and the long list of other giveaways that
the provincial government has planned,” acting CUPE BC president Mark
Hancock said today.
“The B.C. Liberals have wasted more than $3 million trying to get rid of the
highway,” Hancock said. “But they didn’t give a thought to what it would
mean for local community economies.”

The communities themselves did think about it. And they stood up and said no
to the sale. “Spontaneous actions were spearheaded by a lot of concerned
people in those communities,” he added. “They told Campbell and his gang to
keep their privatizing mitts off our highway.”

The sell-off plan was officially announced in May. The Liberals were
preparing to lease the highway to a private firm for 55 years and raise the
tolls.

“It’s hard to believe that any government would not see the insanity of this
proposal,” Hancock said. “It’s actually quite frightening to know that this
kind of thinking is influencing those in power.”
Hancock praised the coalition groups that led the fierce opposition to the
private deal, including local CUPE members. “When a poll shows that 92 per
cent of respondents don’t want a private highway, you’ve got to be dumb as a
post not to stop the project,” he said.

Critics say Campbell’s decision may have spoiled his plan to take money from
the “Heartland” to pay for expensive transportation projects such as rapid
transit in the Lower Mainland.
Part of CUPE BC’s ongoing Strong Communities campaign is to build awareness
of the impact of privatization on communities.
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Contact: Ron Verzuh, CUPE Communications, 604-828-7668.
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