Five things to keep in mind on today’s Surrey light rail announcement by the Conservative government:

1. It’s not a surprise. Today’s “announcement” is no different that what the Tories promised during the plebiscite campaign. James Moore then: ““Should the No side win in the campaign, I suspect there will be alternative approaches that will be developed by the mayors’ council or by the province or by others. We as British Columbians will absolutely get our fair share regardless of the transit referendum outcome. Period.”

2. Every party is promising to contribute. The NDP, the Liberals, the Greens, the Conservatives – they have all said they’ll kick in the feds’ one-third share.

3. It’s taxpayers’ money, not the politicians’. I do tire of politicians making these grand announcements as if they are doing something wonderful for us. We pay these taxes – it’s our money, not theirs. Side note: check out our new Election Spending Tracker to see just how much of our money is being thrown around.

4. Surrey had already cut TransLink out of their deal. As we said countless times during the plebiscite campaign, Surrey was already working on a Plan B if the TransLink sales tax was defeated. Under Mayor Dianne Watts’s leadership, the project had already advanced into the second round of P3 vetting at the federal level. Watts, by luck or design (who knows?), anticipated that cutting TransLink out of the process was the way to go. Looks like she was right. How’s your Arbutus Subway Plan B coming, Gregor Robertson?

5. The Pattullo Bridge should be the #1 transportation priority. This bridge, after eight decades of service, is at the end of its life. It needs to be replaced. Are any federal parties (especially the ones promising toll-free bridges for the Montreal area – looking at you, Misters Mulcair and Trudeau) going to allocated federal money to the Pattullo?