Do you want to watch a video of NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe evading a reasonable question for all the internet to see?
Sure you do.
The video was shot at an NPA press conference on Oct. 21, and was posted to YouTube by Vision Vancouver on Oct. 23. In the video, reporter Frances Bula asks LaPointe why he's blaming Mayor Gregor Robertson for the carbon tax to pay for transit, when Surrey Mayor Diane Watts had been the one pushing hardest for the initiative.
She adds that the carbon tax is part of the Mayor's Council's strategy.
"These are regional strategies," Bula says. "Why do you make it sound as though he's the only person who thought of this?"
LaPointe replies, "Sorry, I don't have an answer for that. I mean, that's a bit of a...a bit of an empty question."
The NPA's communications official then calls an end to the question period. As LaPointe leaves the podium, Bula – who worked under LaPointe for five years as a reporter at the Vancouver Sun – asks, "Are you saying I'm wrong?"
LaPointe shakes his head and walks away.
Vision Vancouver posted the video as part of its criticism of LaPointe's leadership on the issue of transit. NPA released a press release on Oct. 21, outlining its transportation platform. The carbon tax is part of the Mayors' Council Vision for Regional Transportation, outlined here:
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