Urban

The Leap Manifesto has recently found itself at the centre of controversy, with pipelines in particular acting as a wedge between various factions and regional representatives of the NDP.

[Webpage editor's note: It has long been suspected that one motivation for the proposed 10 lane bridge to replace the currrent 4 lane Massey tunnel under the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver was to enable larger ships to sail up and down the river (the tunnel limits a deeper river channel). Steve Ree's blog provides some evidence regarding LNG carriers.]

The Council of Canadians has joined with allies to call on the federal government launch an environmental review of the proposed Massey Bridge in Metro Vancouver and to withhold federal infrastructure funding from the project.

For context, the George Massey Tunnel is an existing highway traffic tunnel in Metro Vancouver that is located about 20 kilometres south of Vancouver city centre. The four-lane highway goes under the south arm of the Fraser River estuary and joins the municipalities of Richmond and Delta.

So much for the suburban answer to high house prices in the city.

Costly homes in Toronto have driven so many buyers to the suburbs that bidding wars are becoming common and prices are soaring. But that's only part of the affordability challenge of moving outside the urban centre.

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Commuting, whether by car or public transportation, is also an issue.

[Finds less acceptance in Canada than US that climate change is anthropogenic]

[Excerpt]:

The B.C. government decided in September 2013 to remove the George Massey tunnel and replace it with a $3.5-billion toll bridge

METRO VANCOUVER -- Richmond politicians want to know how a tunnel under the Fraser River that was deemed “good for 50 years” is to be filled in and replaced with a 10-lane bridge.

Coun. Harold Steves said council has sent a letter to the provincial government seeking all documentation around its September 2013 decision to remove the George Massey tunnel and replace it with a $3.5-billion toll bridge.

We have lived to see the day of a condo boom in Hamilton, Ontario. We have made housing into an object of speculation that sucks in money from here and everywhere, foreign and domestic. For those still wondering, the problem isn’t at heart “foreign”, it’s “money.”

The World Health Organisation has issued a stark new warning about deadly levels of pollution in many of the world’s biggest cities, claiming poor air quality is killing millions and threatening to overwhelm health services across the globe.

Before the release next month of figures that will show air pollution has worsened since 2014 in hundreds of already blighted urban areas, the WHO says there is now a global “public health emergency” that will have untold financial implications for governments.