In the News

A well-attended Whalley civic pep rally rose yesterday from the ashes of the arson-damaged Quattro development in Surrey.

Mayor Dianne Watts, MLA Bruce Ralston, developer Charan Sethi and Sethi's banker addressed an anxious crowd of more than 200 onlookers, expressing confidence that Quattro will be finished and Whalley will thrive.

"Whalley will rebuild," said Ralston, MLA for Surrey-Whalley.

"Whalley will be strong. It will be the heart of a great city in the future." Ralston also commented on the surprise guest at the podium -- Greg Sprung of Canadian Western Bank.

"I don't think I've ever heard a banker speak at a public event before," said Ralston.

An arson fire gutted Phase 2 of the development in a spectacular blaze Oct. 1.

But the public forum's main goal was to ease the minds of Quattro buyers, and Sprung told the crowd what they came to hear in an era of tough economic times with other developers pulling up stakes.

"We've been involved with this project from the very beginning," Sprung assured the crowd.

"We intend to stay with it until the end." Watts conceded that times are tough but insisted Surrey is on the way up.

"People are a bit nervous, and the fears go up, but there are significant opportunities," she said. "Already, we have half of the project being rebuilt.

"This community is really, truly amazing." Sethi -- whose firm, Tien Sher Group of Companies, intends to build a total of 480 units plus commercial space -- handed out gift baskets to neighbours who'd helped his workers when the fire erupted.

Calling the fire a "setback," Sethi said workers were back on the job the following day, and he urged owners who've bought into the project to be patient as their move-in dates are pushed back.

"My dream is the same," said Sethi. "I won't let you down.

"That's why we brought our bankers here." He added that Phase 2 will be fully assessed next week, with hopes of rebuilding soon.

"We are going to assess the damage by next Wednesday or Thursday, and then we'll move on to the next steps," he said.

One of those who's tired of waiting is Ison Dsouza, a Vancouver finance worker who was enticed by Quattro's glossy ads and the promise of "Yaletown in Surrey." "I have a two-year-old son, and there are addicts and fights here," said Dsouza, 40, who asked Sethi for his money back but was told all he can do is sell his investment.

"I've tried to sell. I've talked to two realtors," said Dsouza.

"I've had no luck -- there are no buyers." Surrey assistant fire chief Joe DeLuca said the complete incineration of Phase 2 destroyed any evidence for fire investigators.

"The whole building burned to the ground in about 20 minutes," said DeLuca.

"There's nothing left for fire investigators, so we've turned the investigation over to police." DeLuca predicted that all developers will step up security at large development sites.

"I think what's going to happen to developments of this kind is that they will be extra vigilant," he said.

"That structure was at its most vulnerable phase." iaustin@theprovince.com

NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston says the provincial Liberal government's claim that his party is set against private-public partnerships is off the mark.

The Surrey-Whalley MLA dismisses the charge as "desperate."

"The government is really scrambling," he said. "The public find them arrogant and out of touch."

The issue was raised when B.C. Health Minister George Abbott called on provincial NDP leader Carole James and her party to "come clean" on that party's plans for the construction of new hospitals after B.C. Federation of Labour Jim Sinclair reportedly called for a moratorium on P3s.

If such a thing were to happen, Abbott argued, major health-care projects would be at risk.

"The Carole James NDP is the political arm of the B.C. Federation of Labour," Abbott remarked. "They share members, they share resources and they share the same shadowy ambition to pull our province back into the 1990s where no new hospitals were built and patients paid the price."

Abbott listed, among the projects he said could be at risk, the $239 million new Surrey Outpatient Hospital.
While Ralston says he doesn't advocate "a blanket moratorium on all P3 projects in existence," he noted that they are not without risk either. He cited as an example the proposed Surrey Outpatient Hospital, which he said is financed through a bank in Dublin, which is a subsidiary of another bank in Germany that was recently bailed out by the German government.

"If the financing falls through, it may cause a further delay," Ralston warned. "The bloody Surrey hospital's been delayed long enough."

If P3 financing fell apart in the Surrey project, he added, the government has to step in the complete the work.
As for the comments attributed to Sinclair, he added, "Jim Sinclair is speaking for himself."

Bruce Ralston

MLA for Surrey-Whalley

When the news spilled out about the massive 43-per-cent pay raise Gordon Campbell gave to his top deputies, the Campbell Liberals sent B.C.’s hardest workers a clear message – you don’t matter.

The Premier should start by explaining why he pushed through more obscene wage hikes for his top executives and then snuck out of town on a private jet before it was announced.  

The truth is that the Premier knew it was wrong and did it anyway.  Worse, he didn’t have the courage to take responsibility. 

When Campbell was asked why he broke his promise not to hike deputies’ salaries for four years he had this to say: "One of the important things we have to do is make sure that we are treating people fairly."

Treating people fairly? This is beyond hypocritical.

It’s a level of hypocrisy that shows an arrogant Campbell who thinks he can get away with anything.

Recently, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said that the Campbell government has "a lot of work to do, explaining our policies to the public".

Maybe the Campbell government should start by explaining why they thought it was a good idea to push through yet more obscene wage hikes for their top executives while still refusing to consider a raise to the minimum wage.

While the average British Columbian’s median income has remained stagnant, the Premier’s Deputy Minister’s salary now ranks first in the country.

Everyday in B.C., life gets more expensive for families already stretched by rising costs and a cooling economy.

While British Columbians struggle to pay their taxes, meet the mortgage, and balance the family budget, the Premier acts as though he couldn’t care less.

As though the people he’s hurting don’t matter.

Whether it’s Campbell’s new gas tax, higher hydro rates, record housing prices, higher food costs, increased ICBC premiums, rising ferry costs or higher transit fares, it’s harder than ever to balance the family budget.

But does Gordon Campbell care that family budgets are stretched?

Does he care that high gas prices are eating into pay cheques, savings accounts and the monthly mortgage payment.

No. Gordon Campbell doesn’t care.

The Campbell government's response is to dismiss people's concerns.

As New Democrats, we believe that the government’s top priorities should be issues that matter to British Columbians. That’s why we are focused on improving the education system for our children, fixing health care, ensuring seniors are treated fairly, and repealing the gas tax.

Over the coming months, you can count on Carole James and the NDP to continue to fight for average families and to hold the Campbell government accountable for their arrogance and inaction.

The New Democrats are ready for the fight. We’re challenging Campbell’s priorities and pet projects and speaking out for average families.

That’s what the next election will be all about.

NDP launches petition to roll back massive pay hikes

Gordon Campbell Needs a Reality Check

VICTORIA – Today the New Democrats launched a web petition calling on the Campbell government to reverse the massive pay hikes he awarded to top executives late last week.