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B.C. gets transit, police money in federal budget

Last Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 | 6:49 AM PT

CBC News

In a federal budget that contained few surprises, British Columbia will get more money from Ottawa for policing and transit.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said Tuesday he is unhappy with the absence of funding for affordable housing in the federal budget.
(CBC)

The budget provides $66 million for the Evergreen Line Light Rapid Transit System, a new transit line that aims to relieve commuter traffic between the Vancouver suburbs of Burnaby and Coquitlam.

The package also includes $25 million to fund torch relays for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic games and part of the $53 million that Ottawa has pledged for the Canada-wide hiring of 2,500 police officers over the next five years.

The transit funding is a small portion of what B.C. is seeking for a $14-billion transit upgrade plan that was unveiled last month.

But B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor welcomed the money anyway, calling it a good start.

"It was very nice to have our Evergreen Line mentioned in the budget. It is an important initiative for us,'' she said.

Evergreen is getting part of the $500 million in the budget for countrywide transit infrastructure projects which have been previously announced or where municipal commitments will be made before the end of March.

Municipal leaders want more

However, some municipal leaders in B.C. are not sure the province's allocation will be enough.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said municipalities may have to dip into property taxes to fund part of the infrastructure costs.

"Out of every tax dollar, eight cents goes to the municipalities to provide the services that we provide on a daily basis,'' he said.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said he's happy to see money in the federal budget for municipal policing, but he's disappointed by the lack of funds for affordable housing, an issue that topped his list of priorities.

Vancouver gets part of the $110 million earmarked for research projects to help homeless people suffering from mental illnesses in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, N.B.

"We have to do more work to get the awareness and attention of the federal government on the issue of homelessness,'' Sullivan said.

This story is now closed to commenting.

Internal Links

Campbell unveils $14B transit upgrade for B.C.
Government commits $49M to Olympics
IN DEPTH: Federal Budget 2008 highlights

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