As Canadians across the country voted overwhelmingly for change in the federal election, both local politicians and the business community are waiting to see what impact a new government will have on Burnaby.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said he’s optimistic new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will follow through on his commitments made during the campaign.
On the promise of infrastructure spending, the mayor said he’s not eyeing Burnaby projects as much as the larger regional perspective, noting, for example, a trio of treatment plants in Metro Vancouver that need to be addressed.
Corrigan said he’ll be pushing hard for the federal government to start addressing the infrastructure deficit in the region.
On Monday, the Liberals under Trudeau swept to power, ending nearly 10 years of Conservative rule.
The prime minister also promised to legalize marijuana.
Corrigan suggested there needs to be rules around the drug, similar to how liquor has been handled in the country. He argued cities should be given the authority to make sure any pot dispensaries or businesses are run to the highest standards and are operated in a way that they don’t affect neighbours or cause additional social problems.
“I certainly do not want to lift the lid off of Pandora’s box and have a proliferation of marijuana stores all over everybody’s city,” Corrigan said.
As for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline proposal, the mayor is also hoping Trudeau will follow through on promised changes to the National Energy Board process.
“I suspect there will be a lot of pressure on Trudeau and on the Liberal MPs who are newly elected to reconsider what’s happening with Kinder Morgan and look at other alternatives,” Corrigan said.
Meanwhile, Burnaby Board of Trade president and CEO Paul Holden said so far he hasn’t seen too many details on what the new federal Liberal government has planned for the business community. But with infrastructure spending in the Liberal election platform, he’s hoping the new government will address some of the bigger issues in the Lower Mainland like transportation.
“When a government has been in at any level for quite some time, there’s a predictability that comes with that, so when there’s change, people are always looking to see what the change might mean and what the impacts might be,” Holden said. “For us, we’ll still keep on advocating in the interest of business, and hopefully the new government will be receptive to that.”
One change in the dynamic locally was the election of Liberal Terry Beech for Burnaby North-Seymour.
Holden noted Beech is well-known in the business community, having previously taken part in a number of board of trade events.
“He’s obviously someone who’s already shown an interest in the business community, which is encouraging,” he said.
Holden also noted the two other Burnaby MPs, New Democrats Kennedy Stewart and Peter Julian, are also well-known to the business community.
“It’s good the three MPs we have representing Burnaby have shown that they’re very interested in and engaged with the business community,” he said.
