Statement from Teamsters Local 213 Principal Officer Tony Santavenere:
“BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson says he wants to scrap the Massey Tunnel replacement project.
Let me be clear: scrapping this project would be a huge mistake and a giant waste of money.
Construction activities have been underway on the project for more than nine months now. More than a half-billion dollars have been spent on the project. 200 workers have been on site, working to make this project a reality for Metro Vancouver commuters.
Why waste that time, effort and money? It makes no sense.
It is true, this project has faced challenges, but cancelling it now would be throwing good money after bad.
The sites are prepared, the environmental assessment is almost done and major construction could start as soon as January. That’s just two-and-a-half months away.
On top of all that, the federal government has committed up to $3 billion to pay for the project. We can’t afford to lose that crucial investment in our infrastructure.
Lorne Doerkson is deeply misguided on this. Scrapping the Massey Tunnel replacement now will only waste money already spent, add to costs, extend the completion timeline and leave frustrated commuters stuck in traffic for years longer.
Teamsters Local 213 calls on the BC Conservative leader to come to his senses and reverse this commitment.”