VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today commended Premier Christy Clark and the B.C. Government for announcing it will require an audit of TransLink operations and spending.

In recent weeks, the CTF, along with several media outlets, whistleblowers, and Lower Mainland mayors, have expressed concern over examples of wasteful spending at TransLink, which collects almost $1.4 billion in revenue annually from taxpayers and transit riders. The CTF has been calling for an audit.

“This is an early, but significant, victory for taxpayers tired of ever-increasing TransLink taxes,” said Jordan Bateman, CTF B.C. Director, noting that Lower Mainland drivers pay the highest gas taxes in North America--50 cents per litre. “Not another nickel should flow to TransLink until they put their fiscal house in order.”

A recent letter from the TransLink Mayors’ Committee asked the Province to give TransLink the ability to levy five new taxes—a vehicle levy, regional carbon tax, a share of the provincial carbon tax, additional gas tax, and road tolls. Together, a TransLink report estimates they could take an extra billion dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets on top of the BC Hydro levy, property taxes, gas taxes, tolls and fares they already take.

“We hope this is the first step to stopping the vehicle levy and the rest of TransLink’s billion dollar tax grab,” said Bateman. “We believe TransLink is a waste machine, with issues like nepotism, security breaches, U-pass theft, safety concerns, communication mistakes, fare evasion, pay polling, superfluous studies and redundant transit police.”

The CTF is calling on the Province to ensure that the auditors sit down with concerned stakeholders and whistleblowers and hear their stories.

“It’s important that those of us who have been digging into TransLink are given the opportunity to share our findings with the audit team,” said Bateman. “Otherwise, the numbers on the page will only give them part of the story.”