[LabComm] BC Liberals "leased" BC Rail for $52 million, says MacPhail

[BC NDP NEWSWIRE]

-- 90 year lease amounts to $577,000 a year for profitable company --

VANCOUVER -- The true sale price for BC Rail comes to a mere $52 million, NDP Opposition House Leader Joy MacPhail said today.

MacPhail pointed to the 1st quarter financial report delivered yesterday. That report states that a mere "$52 million of the transaction gain relates to the operating lease for the right of way and rail bed assets, and will be spread out over the term of the lease..." (page 19, First Quarter Report)

"This BC Rail deal is a scam, and the first quarter report proves it," said MacPhail. "We handed over $750 million in assets from a profitable company to a major BC Liberal campaign donor for a return of just $52 million spread over 90 years. That's $577,000 a year for a company that made a profit of more than $80 million last year alone. I'm sure they're having a good chuckle over at CN headquarters."

MacPhail said that the deal is another example of the premier's incompetence.

"At the end of the day, Gordon Campbell makes a good mark for big companies looking to buy up BC. Every privatization scheme he touches results in BC getting ripped off or in such a ferocious public backlash that he has to back off."

--30 --

To unsubscribe or change your settings go to: http://www.e-2ve6y.signup.bc.ndp.ca/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bcfed.net/pipermail/labcomm/attachments/20040915/ff1f4c1c/attachment.html>