The mayors of B.C.sa国际传媒檚 largest cities want the federal government to address some key issues facing urban areas.

On Sept. 8, less than two weeks before the Sept. 20 election, the B.C. Urban Mayorssa国际传媒� Caucus released its calls to action for federal leaders to consider during this election season. The group is calling on the next Parliament to take action on key issues that urban areas face, including mental health and substance use, affordable housing, public transit, and the local government finance system.

The caucus, co-chaired by Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran and Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, is asking for the federal government to keep urban issues in mind when they form government.

sa国际传媒淥ur hope is that whichever party forms government, the platform promises are quickly turned into positive action that will benefit our residents and businesses in the throes of the fourth wave of the pandemic and through recovery,sa国际传媒� Basran said.

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The caucussa国际传媒� calls to action largely focus on housing and include:

sa国际传媒� Making the Rapid Housing Initiative permanent with at least a $2-billion investment a year until chronic homelessness is no longer an issue

sa国际传媒� Implementing a non-market acquisition strategy so the non-profit sector can purchase low-end-of-market rental buildings and preserve them as affordable

sa国际传媒� Developing and funding an urban, rural and northern Indigenous strategy so urban Indigenous organizations can provide culturally supportive housing

sa国际传媒� Using federal tax policy to incentivize construction of more market rental units that can be reached by local wages

sa国际传媒� Partnering with B.C. to fund complex care housing and provide adequate and appropriate supports for people who are falling through the cracks

Helps said Canada has one of the most severe housing supply challenges.

sa国际传媒淭his is showing up in our cities where hard-working residents cansa国际传媒檛 afford to live in them. We know local governments have a role to play in increasing housing supply and wesa国际传媒檙e committed to that, but we need strong federal policy and funding to assist.sa国际传媒�

The B.C. Urban Mayorssa国际传媒� Caucus is comprised of the mayors of Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. Combined, those cities represent more than half of the provincesa国际传媒檚 total population.

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twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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