Vancouver, BC The Wilderness Committee is calling on BC’s Premier Gordon Campbell to replace Kevin Falcon as Minister of Transportation when the new MLAs are sworn in and cabinet members are selected.

"Since 2004, the Minister of Transportation has been Kevin Falcon who has probably been the biggest bottleneck preventing meaningful action on climate change in BC. Not only has Falcon been the driving force behind massive highway expansion around the province including the controversial Gateway project, but he has actively misled the public in regards to the impact of transportation policy on the climate crisis," said Wilderness Committee Healthy Communities Campaigner Ben West.

Currently 35% of BCs climate changing emissions come from automobiles, the largest single source in the province. Falcon has repeatedly suggested that highway construction would reduce congestion and therefore reduce emissions from idling cars. This opinion was characterized as "misleading" by Health Canada during the environmental certification process for the Port Mann Bridge expansion component of the Gateway project.

"Minister Falcon has been unable to provide a single instance anywhere in the world where building a highway has reduced congestion. In fact, highways induce even more traffic and congestion in a short amount of time. Falcons assertions to the contrary are, at best, disingenuous," said West.

The Wilderness Committee has also raised concerns about Falcons under-funding of public transit. Public transit investment is the critical piece of climate friendly transportation policy.

"People south of the Fraser have a quarter of the service per capita that people have in Vancouver. For the BC government’s carbon tax to be effective people need convenient and affordable options to get out of their cars and right now Translink is running an operating deficit and about 400 millions more is needed to meet existing demand," said West.

"Making a change from Kevin Falcon and his outdated approach to his 1950s-style transportation management would send a clear signal that the provincial government is taking their climate change goals seriously," said West.

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For more information please contact:
Ben West, Healthy Communities Campaigner - (604) 710 5340