issue 28 // volume 41

Metro Vancouver to receive federal
funding for transit projects

» New Public Transit Fund will allocate $1 billion annually to Canadian cities

Mercedes Deutscher
¥. Staff Reporter

 

he federal government

with its federal budget, that it
will allocate $1 billion annually
toward transit projects in major
Canadian cities.

The new funding is
scheduled to begin in the
2017-18 fiscal year. For the
first two years of the fund,
the federal government will
give $750 million to help fund

first two years, that amount will
be increased to $1 billion.

PPP Canada will be
responsible for managing the
Public Transit Fund. The PPP
may choose to fund municipal
transit projects based on the
merit and standards shown by

the right to remove funding or
penalize if poor performance is
shown.

Whether or not this
funding will remain concrete
will depend on the results of
this year’s federal election, and
if a new party will decide to

: keep the funding should they

: be elected. “The new transit

: funding commitments in [the]

: budget [is] good news for Metro
: Vancouver,” said Vancouver

: Mayor Gregor Robertson

: ina Mayors’ Council news

L : conference.
announced on April 21, along :

Mayor Robertson has been

: advising Metro Vancouver

: residents to vote “Yes” in the

: ongoing Metro Vancouver

: Transportation and Transit

: Referendum. “This new funding
: program, together with existing
: federal infrastructure programs
: announced in previous budgets,
: means the federal government:
: now has the resources needed to :
transportation projects. After the : partner with us in realizing our
: vision.”

Robertson further urges

: voters to support the Mayors’
: Council’s plan, as he explains
: that federal funding programs
: usually require a one-third share :
: from each government (federal, :

: provincial, and local).
project coordinators, and reserve :

“Transport Minister Todd

Stone has assured us that the :
: province is ready to support us in !
: building out our plan. It is now
: up to us, in this region, to come
: up with our own share so we

: can compete for these available
: funds.”

Mayors from all over

Canada are rejoicing over the

: Public Transit Fund, including
: Fredericton Mayor Brad

: Woodside, Calgary Mayor

: Naheed Nenshi, and Toronto

: Mayor John Tory. However, the
: fund has also been met with

: skepticism from the big cities’
: mayors, as they feel that the

: funding is not enough and

: is coming only after years of

: asking.

“Would we like to have it all

> come at once? Of course,” said

news // 5

  

Photo by PoYang from flickr.com

: Tory to Global News. “But this

: is the first time any government

: of any stripe in this country has

: stepped up and has established a
: permanent fund for major public
: transit projects.’

 

Inter-university dialogue on sexual assault begun at UBC

» Twenty-two post-secondary institutions discuss solutions

Lauren Kelly
News Editor
© news@theotherpress.ca

n April 21, students and

faculty from 22 Canadian
post-secondary institutions
joined experts for the Inter-
University Conversation on
Sexual Assault Prevention
at UBC’s Liu Institute. The
event was hosted by the UBC
Alma Mater Society’s Sexual
Assault Support Centre as part
of National Victims of Crime
Awareness Week 2015.

keynote speaker, is a prominent
law professor who has written
and edited many books and
articles on the topic of sexual
assault and violence against
women.

She discussed the backdrop
against which this event was
taking place, with recent
incidents at Canadian post-
secondary institutions such as
the Dalhousie Dentistry School,
St Mary’s, and UBC’s Sauder
School of Business.

Sheehy said that in addition

: to campus policy, there must also :
: be action to educate and prevent
: incidents, and support those

: who have experienced sexual

: assault in the past. Campus

: policies do exist to help students
: report their assaults, but with

: low statistics for sexual assault,

: further steps are not always

: taken. These low statistics are

: the result of multiple factors.

There are many reasons

: people may not report their

: assault: shame, victim blaming,
: cultural stigma, and the belief
: that their assault isn’t severe

Elizabeth Sheehy, the event’s : enough are just a few.

In a recent example of

: incomplete sexual assault

: data, UBC told a CBC News

: investigation that there had

: been 16 sexual assaults on their

: campus between 2009 and 2013.
: CBC checked the records of the

: RCMP’s UBC detachment over

: the same time period and found
over 70 instances.

The same investigation

: received data from 77

: institutions across Canada

: and were told of over 7oo in
: total, which “experts say [...]

is surprisingly low, and an

: indication that [institutions] are
: doing a poor job of encouraging
: students to come forward.”

Some campuses have begun

: placing higher priority on caring
: for survivors of assault, and the

: dialogue opened at this event

: should lead to more campuses

: doing the same.

Chris Hackett from the

: University of Alberta discussed
: its Sexual Assault Centre,

: which includes response

: teams, certified psychologists,

: and volunteers. It is available

: to students of all genders,

: orientations, and backgrounds,
: regardless of where they were

: assaulted.

Although Douglas College

: does not have a Sexual Assault
: Centre, it is possible for

: students and faculty who have
: experienced sexual harassment
: to report and discuss their

: options with a Harassment

: Advisor as per Douglas Policy

: section Ao2.09.01. In addition

: to this, personal counselling

: services are available to students
: who require support.

 

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