PM Justin Trudeau and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson discuss transit, housing, and more

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      Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the first sitting Canadian prime minister to visit Vancouver City Hall since his father did in 1973, participated in a news conference with Mayor Gregor Robertson on December 17.

      Both Trudeau and Robertson answered questions from the media (Trudeau in both English and French) that covered a variety of pressing national and local issues, with an emphasis on local transit and housing.

      When asked about keeping campaign promises of approving transit and housing projects in Vancouver, Trudeau said they will provide the funding but leave project decision-making up to local government.

      "Vancouver, like cities across the country, now have a partner on issues of housing, on issues of public transit, specifically made significant commitments, $20 billion into social infrastructure, like housing for seniors, affordable housing, childcare spaces, shelters, but also $20 billion dedicated directly to transit funding over the next 10 years," he said. "We don't feel Ottawa should be dictating what particular transit project is going to be needed by the people of Vancouver. The people to figure that out best are here in this room and we want to partner with the municipalities on creating the opportunities for growth and for a better quality for life for Canadians right across the country."

      When Trudeau was asked when Vancouver will see money for Broadway subway and LRT in Surrey and how much will be allocated, Trudeau was vague in his answer and avoided specifics.

      "These are the conversations we're engaged in between the Minister for Infrastructure and cities like Vancouver," he said. "The priorities that we put forward were priorities that we heard from the city of Vancouver, things that they feel are important and it's a light-rail to Surrey or a Broadway line or even SeaBus frequencies. These are things we talked about and we look forward to working with the municipality as a strong partner putting up significant funds so we can move forward on things that will benefit Vancouverites and our Canadian economy."

      When asked if he could provide any timeline for the project, he said as soon as possible but "the projects are very much in the municipalities' hands".

      Meanwhile, in response to a follow-up question on the same topic during a post-conference session with Mayor Gregor Robertson, Robertson explained that the mayors will need to meet in the new year to move ahead on the transit plan.

      "We're very pleased to see such a strong commitment to transit investment, infrastructure investment for Vancouver and cities across Canada and we're working very directly with the ministers on next steps so we expect to make progress on it in 2016," he said. "The government has signaled this is a very key priority for them, that they want to move that investment as soon as possible, so we have work to do to make sure with the province, we're bringing forward that package of local projects. As mayors, we've done our work to put a 10-year plan together. We have that ready. So it's really getting everyone around the table in the new year and getting going on that investment. I'm very optimistic that next year, we'll see movement on this."

      Robertson, when asked about transit funding, said the transit system is in urgent need of improvement and a new system of funding needs to be established.

      "We have put forward our desire to see a more sensible approach to tolling the bridges in the region. Many cities around the world are moving toward mobility pricing, where there's a fair system of collecting revenue from the transportation network, whether it's transit or roads, we need a system that makes sense, is modern, and can fund good transportation investments going forward. So hopefully with this new investment in transportation with federal and provincial government, we can get an improved system for tolling. The most vital piece is getting those investments urgently, to get the major projects like Broadway and Surrey light rail started and to get more buses and SeaBus service on the road as soon as possible. People are being passed up by buses, the transit service is not good enough, the traffic congestion is too much, and we need that investment to happen urgently and improve the situation here for people getting around the region."

      Moving on to environmental issues, a reporter asked Trudeau whether or not the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project will still move ahead. He responded by explaining that essential elements have been missing from the past attempts to initiate such projects.

      "One of the things that we've seen over the past 10 years is that Canadians, who understandably need to grow the economy, understandably need to get our resources to market, were no longer reassured that the government was no longer looking out for their long-term best interest, that public trust towards this government and projects like the previous government's and projects like these pipelines, simply wasn't there, and the one thing we made very, very clear was that there needs to be social license, there needs to be public trust before projects like these can go ahead," he stated. "We need to be partnering with indigenous peoples. We need to be reassuring Canadians that the science and the environmental impacts and the risks are being properly monitored so that this and any project is truly in the best interest of Canadians and future generations. That is the frame we're putting forward. As we grow our economy, we have to make sure we're doing it right and Canadians understand that."

      He also outlined his position on the pipeline.

      "I've been saying for years that the Great Bear Rainforest is no place for a pipeline and that continues to be my position. However, we do need to continue to allow processes to go underway where proponents of a broad range of projects can attempt to acquire the social license that simply was not available even as a theoretical option over the past years."

      On other topics in the post-conference Q&A session with Robertson, the mayor was asked about the future of the Jericho lands and any affordable housing projects.

      "We have discussed the federal lands and I've expressed my desire to see more affordable housing and complete communities built on those lands," he said. "First Nations are also partners on those lands now and we've had important conversations with First Nations chiefs. We have more meetings to do with the local First Nations councils, with the federal government, with Canada Lands Co. to make sure that we get the right combination and that we most importantly involve the broader community in shaping the future of those lands."

      He added that the federal government is interested in partnering with local government to create affordable housing in Vancouver.

      "The federal government has signalled they want to be significant contributors on affordable housing. They've got the $20 billion social infrastructure fund that includes housing. They've got CMHC and Canada Lands and various federal assets that are all part of the mix and we hope we see more innovative new approaches to getting more affordable housing built using federal resources, whether it's land or investment dollars. This is a key priority for Vancouver."

       

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig

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