Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleThe federal government says it will support a new bridge to replace the Massey tunnel, if British Columbia wants one. That is according to a column by Rob Shaw published by the Delta Optimist. Shaw argues the position undercuts a major BC NDP argument from the provincial election campaign.
Ottawa’s message on Massey
Federal Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon spoke on Friday at an event at the Port of Vancouver’s Roberts Bank Terminal. Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson stood behind him.
MacKinnon said, “we support crossing that river whatever way the premier tells us to.” He added that if the B.C. government wants to build a bridge, Ottawa is for a bridge.
He also said the federal government is “all in” with Doerkson’s plans and wants the project done as quickly as possible. In his words, it has been “far too long.” Shaw reads that as a subtle jab at the BC NDP’s near-decade of delay.
Doerkson said he is excited to get busy on the crossing. He said the Conservatives have committed to a bridge and that he understands the federal government will help. According to Shaw, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Doerkson had already touched on the issue in their first phone call.
The $3-billion claim
During the campaign, Doerkson pitched a 10-lane bridge with an estimated price tag of $6 billion and a completion date of 2031. BC NDP leader David Eby rejected the idea on Oct. 16, saying it would be too expensive to switch from a tunnel to a bridge at this stage.
Eby said $3 billion in federal funding would be “vaporized” by the Conservative announcement, and that there was no explanation of where replacement money would come from.
Shaw calls that claim election hyperbole, saying MacKinnon’s comments show it was not true. He also credits Eby with negotiating the federal money in the first place. According to Shaw, Eby used B.C.’s conditions for accepting the new Alberta oil pipeline to extract the funding from Ottawa.
Shaw writes that Ottawa did not originally want to be a partner. MacKinnon himself said the project would not normally be seen as a federal responsibility. He described the investment as important, “arguably a nationally important one,” for corridors and for better circulation around the Lower Mainland.
A project with a long history
The Massey tunnel links Delta to Richmond under the Fraser River. The previous BC Liberal government first proposed a 10-lane bridge to replace the aging tunnel.
After the BC NDP took power in 2017, John Horgan cancelled the bridge in favour of an eight-lane replacement tunnel. He said the tunnel had more local support.
Shaw describes the tunnel as a troubled project. The NDP government took years to move it forward. In June, it fired the main contractor and later disclosed a new price tag of $8.5 billion, double the original $4.3-billion estimate. The plan has still not received environmental approval for placing a concrete tube in a salmon-bearing river.
Shaw calls the federal commitment an early, clear win for the Conservatives.
Source: Delta Optimist
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