METRO VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver mayors’ council and TransLink spent $5.8 million of taxpayers’ money to promote a Yes vote in the recent plebiscite, according to figures released by the council Friday afternoon.

The funds, which were used mainly for advertising, followed by public engagement contracts with public relations companies, research and planning and operations, does not include money contributed by individual municipalities.

Vancouver, for instance, spent $350,000 on the Yes campaign, while Surrey contributed $240,500 and New Westminster budgeted $20,000 for the Yes campaign. The Better Transit and Transportation Coalition, which consisted of business, education, environmental and labour groups, also spent $261,743 to promote a Yes vote.

The No side, meanwhile, spent just under $40,000 — which was raised through donations via its website — to convince Metro Vancouver voters to reject the plan.

Mayors’ council spokesman Greg Moore said the TransLink money was needed to hold a “big public consultation process” ahead of the plebiscite, which asked Metro voters to support a 0.5 per cent sales tax increase to fund a transportation expansion plan that includes more buses, road improvements, light rail in Surrey and a subway line in Vancouver over 10 years.

More than 698,900 ballot packages — representing 44.7 per cent of the 1.56 million registered voters in Metro Vancouver — voted in the controversial plebiscite, which was ordered by Premier Christy Clark and wrapped up at the end of May.

“We would not have chosen to spend money to go through a referendum process, but it wasn’t our decision to make,” Moore said.

Metro Vancouver mayors and TransLink met privately Wednesday to discuss potential options should the plebiscite fail. Early polls suggested the tax would be rejected.

Mayors say they need the funding source — estimated to generate $250 million annually — to help expand the transit system and without it, there will be future cutbacks in transit across the region. But the No side, led by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s spokesman Jordan Bateman, has consistently urged voters not to support the tax, saying TransLink should not be trusted with any more public money.

Bateman on Friday called on TransLink to immediately release all contracts, requests for proposals (if any were issued), invoices and other documents for the companies involved.

The mayors’ council in their statement listed several public relations firms and companies, including Kirk & Co. Counterpoint Communications, Cook Public Relations and Stratcom that were hired for the campaign.

“These TransLink friends and insiders got fat and happy on taxpayer money during this campaign,” said Bateman, who also called on TransLink to inform the public on what protection is in place for the personal information collected by these companies with taxpayer dollars.

Elections BC said the plebiscite results should be in by the end of June.

ksinoski@vancouversun.com

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