WATCH: Billionaire businessman Jimmy Pattison has agreed to lead a newly-formed accountability committee to make sure TransLink spends the new tax money as it has promised in the chance of a yes vote. But as Ted Chernecki reports, there are some unanswered questions about what will happen if it doesn’t.
The Mayors’ Council have added one more element on building their ‘yes’ campaign in the upcoming transportation plebiscite — a public accountability committee to oversee the funds collected through tax revenue.
If the ‘yes’ side wins in the upcoming transit plebiscite, the committee will be chaired by Canadian business magnate and philanthropist Jim Pattison.
WATCH MORE: Yes or No? Transit plebiscite decision debate
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson made the announcement alongside Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner this morning. It comes on the heels of questions being raised about the transparency of a recent transit plebiscite town hall.
Pattison will chair a panel of “trusted business people” to work with him to ensure the funds from the transit plebiscite, if approved, will be used as planned, Robertson says. Pattison, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Jim Pattison Group and has a net worth pegged at $7.5 billion, was recently ranked 177th on Forbes magazine’s latest annual list of billionaires.
WATCH: Jimmy Pattison is a popular BC businessmen, but will his name get people out to vote? Keith Baldrey has more.
The committee will not report to the Mayors’ Council but instead directly to the public.
“People want to know their hard earned money will go directly to these improvements and this public accountability committee will do this,” Robertson says.
The mayors believe Pattison’s role will instill confidence that the investments and improvements will be delivered responsibly and transparently.
“We are going to bring some of the brightest minds in business to the table to look at the accountability and assess those audit numbers and also make sure you also agree that this is a responsible use of taxpayers funds,” Hepner says.
READ MORE: Will a Metro Vancouver transit tax cause a retail exodus to Abbotsford?
While it will be up to the province to legislate the spending, the public accountability committee will be responsible for pre and post audits of the spending, according to Robertson.
The plebiscite will be conducted by mail-in ballot between March 16 and May 28, asking the public to support a 0.5 per cent increase in sales tax.
WATCH: Full Mayors’ Council press conference
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