Former minister Taylor testifies in Cambie merchant's lawsuit

Former B.C. finance minister Carole Taylor was led to believe the Canada Line rapid transit project in Vancouverwould be builtby tunnel boring, and not using the cut-and-cover method that manybusinesses found so disruptive, a civil trialheard Wednesday.

Taylor testified at thetrial launched by Susan Heyes, owner of a maternity wear store that was forced to move following years of construction along Vancouver'sCambie Street.

Heyes is suing three levels of government for losses she said were caused by construction ofthe Canada Line.

Her lawyer, Cameron Ward,told the B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday it was "high-handed," "arrogant," and "outrageous" that Heyes was not offered any compensation for the disruptions and loss of business she experienced after construction began in 2005.

The effects on Heyess businessincludednoise, dust, movement of machinery, road closures and parking restrictions,Ward said. All of those factors are alleged to have driven customers away.

Taylor testified she has sympathy for the business owners affected by Canada Line construction along Cambie Street.

Taylor did not have a direct role in negotiating the public-private partnership that's been building the transit line. The negotiationswerecarried outbefore she was elected an MLA for the area affected by construction.

She told the court she was aware of the nuisance the construction was causing and the effect on the bottom line of local merchants.

She said one merchant came to her constituency office and showed her accounting records, demonstrating the revenues that had been lost since construction began.

Taylor said she had been led to believe theCambie Street portions of the project would be built by boring a tunnel underground, and notby the cut-and-cover method that ultimately was used.

Mitigation plea failed: Taylor

When the new method was implemented,Taylor testified, her understanding was the excavation would be done in small sections so that no one section of Cambie Street would be disrupted for more than three months. That turned out not to be the case, she said.

Taylor also testified she met theCEOs of both the Greater Vancouver transit authority, TransLink,and the Canada Line. She expressed her concerns about construction, but was not able to encourage them to mitigate the damages done to merchants.

Ward said his client was financially devastated by the irresponsible actions of big business and big government.

Because of the disruptions, Ward argued, Heyes was forced to remortgage her house for $900,000 and move her business to Main Street last year.

The Canada Line, which will run from downtown Vancouver to Richmond and theairport,is expected to open in November.