Metro Vancouver mayors are renewing their call for federal parties to establish a dedicated transit fund, as Canada inches closer to the election this fall.
Mayors鈥� Council executive director Mike Buda said the fund would allow them to plan longterm.
The model would be similar to the gas tax, which provides infrastructure to communities based on their populations. The gas tax fund delivers about $2 billion a year to municipalities across the country.
. is launching a public campaign to teach people how to contact/lobby their fed representatives to continue to support transit in .
鈥� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
鈥淲e鈥檙e saying look, base a permanent direct funding mechanism, a congestion relief fund, on similar principles,鈥� Buda said at the Mayors鈥� Council on Regional Transportation Thursday.
鈥淚n the longterm we would know how much we were going to get. That allows us to align federal funding with the planning we do.鈥�
The proposal isn鈥檛 looking for extra money on top of what has been committed already by senior governments, Buda said, but simply to create a dedicated stream of federal cash that local leaders can rely on after that funding runs out in 2027.
New Westminster Mayor John Cote, who chairs the Mayors鈥� Council, said the fund would be 鈥渃ritically important.鈥� The council is asking for $375 million a year.
Cote said mayors received a positive response when they headed to Ottawa several weeks ago, and said they would continue to meet with the federal government in the lead up to this fall鈥檚 election.
On Thursday, the Mayors鈥� Council rolled out an ad campaign on social media, as well as tools for the public and stakeholder organizations to reach out and lobby to the federal government.
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