Clark must drop onerous conditions on transit funding
Metro could lose out: Other cities are submitting shovel-ready projects for federal funding, while Vancouver is stuck in deadlock
British Columbians were disappointed on federal election night when they learned the result was already decided back east — before a single B.C. vote was counted.
Imagine how they would feel if it was discovered all the billions in new federal Liberal government funding for transportation projects was spent on projects back east — before B.C. even applied for it!
That’s exactly what is likely to happen unless the B.C. government quickly drops its requirements that a plebiscite be held to approve any new transit and transportation funding — and that municipalities put up onethird of the costs.
Our competition for federal money — Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and other cities — face no such requirements and are already hard at work preparing shovelready requests for funding.
Good for them, not for us, because by the time Metro Vancouver mayors and the provincial government even agree on the terms for another plebiscite, let alone hold it, let alone see it passed, the new federal funding will be long spent.
And when it’s gone, it’s gone. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t be putting money for Metro Vancouver under a mattress in Ottawa to save for a day when Premier Christy Clark just might ask for it.
That would be bad news for Metro Vancouver transit users and those who would like to take public transit if it were more accessible and convenient; for drivers stuck in ever-worsening traffic congestion; and for businesses trying to move goods through that gridlock and seeing commute times for their workers increase constantly.
It’s also bad news for our unions’ members — the bus drivers who see the urgent need for better transit in frustrated riders and the construction workers who want to build the needed improvements.
No other provincial government expenditure in B.C.’s $46-billion annual budget requires direct voter approval through a plebiscite or referendum — not even the $3-billion Massey Tunnel replacement bridge announced by Clark in 2013.
Other provinces are also funding new transit and transportation projects without the onerous requirement that municipalities pay one-third of the total costs.
So while Ontario, Quebec and Alberta are ready to roll with significant rapid transit expansion, B.C. is unable to budge on a SkyTrain subway extension on Broadway or light rail for Surrey and Langley — as proposed by the region’s mayors.
In the six major transit projects underway in the Toronto area, the Ontario government is paying about $10.7 billion, the federal government $1.03 billion, and Toronto about $526 million, most of that for the Spadina subway line extension. The Ontario government is paying 87 per cent of the costs — and willingly so because it supports expansion of public transit.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has proposed Metro Vancouver contribute 10 per cent of major project costs — a change that would break the stalemate.
Clark’s position on requiring a plebiscite came out of her 2013 election platform — developed in a different time and well before Trudeau’s welcome promise of significant infrastructure funding to stimulate the economy across Canada, create jobs and improve our environment.
No one would fault Clark for revisiting her position in light of the changes — or given the enormous opportunity B.C. has to tap federal funding for muchneeded transit and transportation improvements.
But many will fault B.C. if it forfeits federal funding that could create thousands of jobs and help remove thousands of cars from our gridlocked roads simply because the premier wouldn’t change her mind.
We shouldn’t be left waiting for a bus or train — let’s make sure we get our fair share of federal transportation and infrastructure funding.