VICTORIA – By continuing to back the flawed $3.5 billion tolled Massey replacement project, the BC Liberals are sticking with their policy of forcing people in Surrey and Delta to pay unfair tolls, says Ravi Kahlon, BC NDP MLA for Delta-North.

“For years, the BC Liberals forced people in Surrey and Delta to pay unfair tolls to cross the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges,” says Kahlon. “If it was up to Andrew Wilkinson, people would still be paying those tolls, and now we know they would even paying new tolls to use the Massey replacement.”

Yesterday, Transportation Minister Claire Trevena released a report which confirmed the BC Liberals pushed ahead without analyzing more cost effective options. The BC Liberals planned to toll that bridge, and yesterday they doubled down on support for that plan.

“Even after Surrey and Delta voters overwhelmingly rejected these tolls, the BC Liberals continue to support them,” says Kahlon. “The BC Liberals haven’t learned a thing. If ever given the chance, they won’t hesitate to drive up costs for people in Surrey and Delta by hitting them with new tolls.”

The government report released yesterday also estimates that building a tolled replacement for the Massey would divert 10,000 vehicles a day to the Alex Fraser.

One of the first actions taken by the BC NDP government was eliminating tolls to make life more affordable for people in the region and help people get to and from work faster. The removal of tolls is putting thousands of dollars back in the pockets of British Columbians.

The BC NDP is working to get the right project to fix the bottleneck at the Massey tunnel and is working to make life more affordable for British Columbians regardless of where they live.