New Transit Plan Benefits Entire Province
Premier Gordon Campbell and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon unveiled a $14-billion public transit plan to be completed by 2020 this week. The transit plan is a key measure in British Columbia's greenhouse gas reduction plan and will impact every region of the province.
Other details of the transit plan include:
- $10.3-billion will be invested in four new rapid transit lines in Metro Vancouver – the Evergreen Line, the UBC Line, the upgraded Expo Line and the Canada Line (for which $2 billion was previously committed).
- $A new 1.2 billion energy efficient, high capacity RapidBus BC service will be constructed along nine major routes in the high-growth urban centres of Kelowna, Victoria and Metro Vancouver.
- 1,500 new, clean energy buses and related maintenance infrastructure to provide communities around the province with improved bus service, costing $1.6-billion.
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Premier Announces New Forestry Measures
The Province will appoint a working roundtable on forestry, conduct a review of government forest regulations and provide new financial supports for forestry workers, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today in his speech to the 65th Annual Truck Loggers Association (TLA) Convention.
The Working Roundtable on Forestry will be chaired by Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman and include the Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Pat Bell, rural MLAs, forest industry representatives, including the TLA, First Nations, academics, organized labour, and environmental organizations. Along with the formation of the Working Roundtable on Forestry, Premier Campbell announced that government will work with labour and industry to provide help towards workers through the current restructuring. Other highlights of the Premier's speech include:
- The Province will launch a full regulatory review of the Ministry of Forests and Range to streamline and reduce unnecessary red tape, cut processing time and eliminate unnecessary cost burdens resulting from regulation. The Province is allocating $1 million for this review to be conducted in consultation with industry within the next 90 days.
- The Province will work with industry and labour representatives to develop new opportunities for older workers to bridge to retirement from the workforce if they wish.
- The Province will work with industry and labour to provide for training, skills and educational upgrades, for workers who are temporarily laid off, through new tuition fee assistance programs. Eligible courses will be determined by a committee made up of industry, organized labour, and the Ministry of Economic Development.
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Roof Completion Marks Major Milestone for Richmond Oval
Premier Gordon Campbell, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and other dignitaries marked a significant construction milestone for a major Olympic venue this week as the final section of the Richmond Oval’s massive 26,304-square meter roof was lifted into place.
Premier Campbell, Parliamentary Secretary for Federal Olympic Secretariat James Moore, VANOC CEO John Furlong and other special guests joined Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Richmond City Council in signing the final roof section before it was lifted into place. Over the past week, more than 8,000 Richmond residents, project workers and City staff also made their mark on Olympic history by adding their signatures to the final roof section.
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