WHEREAS the District of Lillooet has no form of public or private transportation systems to assist its citizens to access required health or government services only available outside of Lillooet; AND WHEREAS the District of Lillooet, in conjunction with the Thompson Nicola Regional District and BC Transit, has developed the Gold Country Transit System; AND WHEREAS the funding is no longer available for BC Transit to implement new transit systems: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities, the Province of British Columbia and the Federal Government of Canada commit to allowing funding, available under the proposed New Deal 2, to be used for the implementation of new transit systems in rural British Columbia.
Ministry of Community Services On November 28, 2005, Act C-66 was granted Royal Assent by the Governor General of Canada. This authorizes the federal government to provide up to 800 million to provinces and territories for public transit. British Columbias per capita allocation will be 105 million over two years and is in addition to the 635.6 million of federal excise gas tax revenues previously committed to British Columbia under the New Deal for Cities and Communities that was signed on September 19, 2005, New Deal Agreement. The Ministry of Community Services will be negotiating the terms and conditions of the transfer of the 105 million for public transit in British Columbia. We anticipate that the structure of the Urban Transit Agreement will mirror the structure of the New Deal Agreement and that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities will administer and disburse the 105 million in federal funding. Negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year. Enhancing transportation options and developing start up plans for smaller committees such as the District of Lillooet will be part of those negotiations. The federal government has indicated that the transit funds will be allocated largely on transit ridership and that the funds may be used for the following core priorities: - refurbish and replace fleets; - upgrade and refurbish terminals and garages; - invest in new light rail, subway and bus rapid transit systems; - replace and rehabilitate tunnels, stations and other structures; and - utilize new intelligent transportation systems designed to improve services for both passengers and operators.
PRIME MINISTERS OFFICE Liberal Government On behalf of the Right Honourable Paul Martin, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your letter of October 25, with which you enclosed several resolutions of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities UBCM. You may be assured that the view expressed in the resolutions have been carefully considered. As copies of your correspondence have already been sent to the Ministers within whose responsibilities these matters fall, I am certain that they will have appreciated receiving this information.