ommunity EDITOR ALEXANDRA GRANT THE DAILY VOICE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 2012 7 THE COLLEGE OF , | HAYLEY DOCTOR photo With some passengers treating fare payment as an “honour system,” the Green Party says fines and penalties must be more severe. Fare evaders skip out on fine Green Party says those who don’t pay for fare should be punished By HAYLEY DOCTOR DP leader Adrian Dix may have recently avoided being ticketed by TransLink for fare evasion, but his experience is atypical. Many other riders in the Lower Mainland haven’t been so lucky, with an average of 150 tickets being issued per day over the last 14 months. According to ICBC, those 64,000 tick- ets add up to almost $11 million in fines. Not paying for transit means a $173 fine if you get caught, but the provin- cial Green Party thinks the penalty should be stiffened and enforced more. “Passengers found without proof of payment on SkyTrain should be re- moved from the train/station and fined with no exceptions ensuring that all people are treated equal, eliminating bias based on gender, age, race or po- litical affiliation,” the Green Party said in a statement released yesterday. The party also suggested a sliding scale, so that those who pay their fines quickly aren’t subject to the same costs as someone who waits for a year. But only one out of eight tickets that were issued were paid in full. That means Translink is missing out on almost $10 million, money that could go towards transit system improve- ments. “Tt’s completely the honour system,” said Jordan Bateman, BC Director for Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “If the honour system isn’t going to work for the $3.50 fare, it’s never going to work for a $178 fine.” Translink estimates about four per cent of riders don’t pay fares. Karena Tchakedjian, an arts and sci- ence transfer student believes that not paying for transit is equal to any other crime. “T always pay or show my bus pass whenever I get on the train or the bus. I feel like if you don’t pay for a ticket, then you're just stealing,” said Tchakedjian. “What if you got caught stealing from a store? It’s totally the same thing!” 66 What if you got caught stealing froma store? It’s totally the same thing! KARENA TCHAKEDJIAN SFU team researching medical tourism Researchers are exploring the impact of medical procedures abroad By LEV JACKSON S$ more and more Canadians are Paeessiin abroad for medical pro- cedures, researchers at Simon Fraser University are now studying the industry of medical tourism and the impact it has on both patients and health services alike. Health researcher Valerie Crooks created the SFU Medical Tourism Re- search Group (MTRG). She said very little academic re- search has been done on the industry’s size, ethics, risks and the effects it has on developing countries’ health servic- es. “We definitely heard from Canadi- ans that went abroad that online testi- monials they read are very instrumen- tal in their decision,” said Crooks. “This is one of the ways the industry [medical tourism] is thriving.” Crooks said that individuals inter- ested in medical procedures don’t have enough neutral or third party informa- tion at the moment, and that their usu- al source of information is biased. “The testimonials are typically from people who had very positive experi- ences, but what about those who didn’t have positive experiences? Those are voices that are hard to hear from.” People often go to other countries for surgery because the procedure isn’t covered by Medicare or is simply un- available in Canada. “T think traditionally people think Canadians go because of the waitlist, and the Americans go because of care cost. In the research I’ve done, we found it is a much more complex issue,” said Crooks. Many Canadians are going to coun- ties like India for orthopedic surgeries to avoid the long waits for the proce- dure in Canada. One procedure that is not readily available in Canada is hip resurfacing, an alternative to a total hip replace- ment (THR). Regardless of whether medical tour- ism is a viable option for an individual, Crooks stressed that it is best to be in- formed about both the positives and the negatives of the procedure before they commit. Vancouver mayor connects with local residents through blogger-led social media conversation Despite a Canadian MP’s recent departure from social media platform, Gregor Robertson encourages dialogue with local community on Twitter BY CARISSA THORPE Robertson fielded questions from Vancouverites via Twitter in an hour-long live chat. At the event led by local bloggers Vancouver Is Awesome and Miss604, the Vancouver mayor discussed every- thing from his cat to playoff beards to his appearance on George Stroumbou- lopoulos Tonight to cycling and transit issues. “Social media is a means of commu- nicating with the public. It is an effec- tive way to actually express ideas and receive feedback .. . [and] hopefully engage a younger population which is more used to this form of communica- tion who may be a bit disillusioned with politics,’ said Langara business Yrvrers afternoon Mayor Gregor management instructor Deland Jessop. The availability of politicians through social media such as Robert- son’s chat can be good or bad, depend- ing on the response from other users, Jessop said. Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie An- gus closed his Twitter account over the weekend. In a letter entitled “Why I’m Saying Goodbye to Twitter” that appeared on the Canadian Huffington Post on Mon- day, Angus pointed to what he de- scribed as Twitter’s shortcomings as a reason he was quitting. He listed Twitter’s lack of fact-check- ing and users’ sense of anonymity when posting negative comments as two reasons he would be leaving the popular social media platform. Jessop said social media can help politicians engage with the younger generation in a way they are comfort- able with. Using a platform they know has the potential to empower them to be more involved in politics. “Obama would be the perfect exam- ple of using these tools effectively and motivating youth to turn out in record numbers,” said Jessop. Jessop also said that social media gives politicians another channel to reach their audience. “If you are not using it and your po- litical opponents are, then they will own this market,” said Jessop. “It would not be a good idea to sur- render such a potentially powerful me- dium to a competitor. It would hurt your brand tremendously if others are being heard and you are not.” FILE PHOTO Gregor Robertson demonstrated his social media skills Tuesday.