Public transit must be an election issue

UPDATE: I joined with mayors from across the country to launch the #CutMyCommute campaign today. The cost in time and money because of ridiculous commutes is another reason why we need to be talking about a national transit strategy. Since the election was called, excessive commutes have cost the Canadian economy more than $300 million and counting!

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In the past weeks, I've been asked to comment about the upcoming federal election. I'm glad to have the opportunity to share my ideas.

Federal elections are excellent opportunities to discuss ideas about how we can make our city, province, and country better. Over the next month or so, we have a great chance to discuss what's important to Canadians. Whatever the outcome of the election, we all win if citizens from around the country become more engaged in the issues that are critical to our collective future.

With that in mind, I strongly believe that it's time that each of the federal parties start talking about the need for cities to have the resources and powers to better deliver the services people need every day.

There are a number of areas in which we need to have a conversation: taxation, housing, infrastructure are all on the list and I, along with other mayors and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, will be discussing these over the next several weeks.

Today, though, I want to discuss the first way in which the federal government could make a huge difference in the lives of the 80 per cent of Canadians who live in cities: the creation of a national transit strategy.

Public transit is a critical element in making cities work. It is also a solution to many of the issues we face as a society. An effective public transit system helps combat gridlock and air pollution, of course, but it also increases social mobility, helps those living in poverty get to school and work, and increases the feeling of community.

Canada is the only G8 country without a national public transit strategy. Such a strategy would involve either setting aside long-term, sustainable transit funding or tax mechanisms so that cities can be assured they have the resources to build the projects that people in cities need.

Calgarians have clearly stated they want to see better transit including a southeast LRT, southwest BRT, and direct routes to the airport. Ideally, the City would be able to fund these priorities itself and control its own infrastructure destiny, however we still rely on the other levels of government. These grants are unpredictable and make projects difficult to plan--forcing us to build piecemeal and changing the decisions we would otherwise take.

Making public transit a priority, and creating a national strategy to achieve this will go a long way to helping the vast majority of Canadians.

I look forward to hearing what all the parties think on this issue and sharing the results with all of you.

- Mayor Nenshi