November 16 - 30, 2016
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
12th and
Cambie
By Geoff Meggs
YVR,
BC’s
airline
connection to Canada and the
world and an employer for nearly
24,000 workers, is up for sale to
private investors
Craig Richmond, the airport
authority’s chief executive officer,
recently warned Vancouver City
Council that such a sale would
trigger higher fares for travellers,
cost-cutting on vital security
measures, reduced investment
and lower wages for airport
employees.
His warning triggered a
unanimous
vote
of council Oct. 18
to urge Ottawa to
reject the concept,
first proposed in a review
of
Canada’s
transportation
network completed in 2015
by an appointee of the Harper
Conservative government.
But the Trudeau Liberals
have embraced this plan as a
solution to the pressing need for
new infrastructure investment to
stimulate the Canadian economy
by improving productivity.
Thanks for the welcome
and this invitation to speak to
you.
Asset recycling
Thanks as well for visiting
Vancouver and acknowledging,
as I do, that we’re meeting on
the unceded territory of the
Musqueam, Tseilwatuth and
Sqaumish First Nations.
Today I’m here to talk to
you about “asset recycling.”
It sounds cool, doesn’t it? A
bit green?
In fact, it’s a very direct
threat to Canadians in some very
critical ways:
• It threatens public safety
for the millions of Canadians
who use our airports every year;
• It could drive up the cost
of flying to the travelling public
while reducing basic standards
in our national air system;
• It will undermine the
wages and working conditions of
thousands of workers, including
Unifor members – and hasten
automation.
How many in this room
have taken an airplane in the
last few days? How many in this
room drive a bus or truck? Work
in airport security? Work near
the port? Are involved in railway
work?
If you answer yes to any of
these questions, “asset recycling”
A
could directly affect you.
What is asset recycling?
Asset recycling is the sale
of existing infrastructure assets
to private investors.
What assets are we talking
about?
You name it: airports,
ports, highways, municipal
infrastructure, even the passport
service. But the main focus right
now is airports.
What investors are we
talking about?
These investors could be
global equity funds. They could
be massive pension funds, like
the Ontario Teachers’ Fund
CONT NEXT PAGE
A silent protest was held outside the busy Brighouse Skytrain station in
Richmond last Sunday, November 27, by a group in response to some flyers sent
a week before to many Richmond residences blaming the Chinese community
for the rise of home prices. The protest was organized by Richmond resident
Edward Liu and was joined by MLA Linda Reid and Richmond Councilor Chak
Au. (Photo by WVictoria)
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM