Time may soon be running out for the Lower Mainland to get its share of billions of federal transit infrastructure funding.
The feds have already sweetened the deal by upping their portion of funding to 50 per cent and the province long ago committed to paying one third. That just leaves the mayors to find their 17 per cent, which they can’t seem to do. But it’s not for lack of trying. Every attempt to raise the money has been quashed, either by the province or by the voters.
The mayors have put forward yet another new proposal suggesting a swath of funding sources including fare increases, a $3-hike in property taxes, gas taxes, mobility pricing, selling surplus properties and development cost charges.
But the province hasn’t budged at all, insisting the municipalities, which still only collect eight cents of every tax dollar in Canada, find their millions from pots of money already in their grasp. The minister responsible for TransLink has said the answer is high-density development and lots of it for cities to raise cash.
It looks a lot like labour negotiations, which, when they’re going badly, happen via the media. The two sides continue to play chicken, waiting for the other to flinch first, hoping the public will rally to their side. If any real progress were being made, it would be behind closed doors. And much like in a strike, it’s the service’s users who suffer.
The message from the province for those wanting an improved transit system in Metro Vancouver is clear: It’s our way or the highway, perhaps literally.
We’re sure the other Canadian cities who swallow up those federal transit dollars will thank us for our intransigence.
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