Today Stephen Harper toured the nearly-completed Pitt River Bridge in BC.
Reality: The Pitt River Bridge project received funding from the previous Liberal federal government in October 2005 as part of their $400 million Pacific Gateway Strategy, only to be re-announced by Stephen Harper one year later.
Despite budgeting $108 million for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative in 2007-08, the Harper government only spent $40 million. In 2008, $158 million was allocated to the Gateway, but only $24.4 million was announced.
Too bad the Prime Minister can’t tour any stimulus projects underway through his Economic Action Plan. Many projects awarded to British Columbia under the Harper government’s Economic Action Plan have yet to break ground because of their politicized and bureaucratic federal application process, while the City of Vancouver qualified for no infrastructure projects whatsoever. If the government had used the proven and effective gas tax transfer method, construction on projects like the Surrey ring road and Evergreen line would already be underway and economic stimulus would be flowing to laid-off construction workers.
