Mayor Don Iveson heads to Ottawa Wednesday to push a public transit and affordable housing agenda before the release of the federal budget.
First on his list is securing a funding agreement that would see Edmonton pay only 10 per cent of the upfront infrastructure costs on major projects like the west LRT line.
That balances out when Edmonton pays 100 per cent of the maintenance and operations, said Iveson, sharing the position letter he submitted Tuesday to Finance Minister Bill Morneau. “It’s neat and tidy that way and reflects the fact we have eight to 10 cents of the tax dollars to deal with.”
The federal Liberals committed to spending $20 billion on public transit over 10 years in the last election. The government has since increased that with an additional $8 billion over 12 years. The first phase dollars are assigned and now mayors across the country are waiting for details on how the second, larger phase will be allocated.
