What your B.C. Government is doing for communities:

• Your B.C. Government is providing $479 million over four years to support economic activity in communities throughout the province.
• The Province is investing $14 billion in infrastructure projects in every region of the province generating as many as 88,000 jobs across B.C.
• Your B.C. Government is providing $30 million for the RuralBC Secretariat to enhance community economic development.
• The Province is investing $110 million in new funding for income assistance to enhance support for those in our communities in need.
• Since 2001, your B.C. Government has created 190 kilometres of new bicycle lanes and trails throughout the province by providing grants to over 50 communities. That’s more than the distance between Vancouver and Hope.
• Your B.C. Government has invested $3.98 billion in transportation infrastructure and paved 25,000 lane kilometres of highway since 2001. That’s equal to the distance from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia – and back again.
• Your B.C. Government has added 1,100 additional police officers across the province since 2002.
• The Province has established a new $150-million BC150 Cultural Fund. The proceeds of which will be used to provide ongoing support and foster creative opportunities across B.C.
• Your B.C. Government has allocated $550,000 annually, matched by Community Living BC, for a specialized employment program for adults with developmental disabilities
• The Civil Forfeiture Office was created to penalize those who profit from crime. To date, more than $4.5 million has been obtained from the sale of seized assets. B.C. is one of only two provinces with this law.
• B.C.'s economy has outperformed the national economy for six out of the past seven years.
• The Conference Board of Canada has forecast that B.C. will lead Canada in economic growth in 2010.
• The $3-billion Gateway Program consists of three major road and bridge improvement projects in the Lower Mainland
• Your B.C. Government has launched the $14-billion Provincial Transit Plan with the goal of reducing provincial transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4.7 million tonnes cumulatively by 2020.
• The Province has allocated $40 million over four years in LocalMotion funding for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the accessibility of communities.
• Your B.C. Government has provided funding for the $185-million Northern Development Initiative Trust, the $50-million Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust, the $50-million Island-Coastal Economic Trust and the $15-million First Nations Benefits Trust.
• Your B.C. Government permanently removed the tolls on the Coquihalla Highway on September 26, 2008, saving travellers time and money. A passenger vehicle making a round trip twice a month will save $480 a year, and a commercial truck making a round trip once a week will save $4,800 a year.
• Since 2001, the Province has committed more than $756 million to battle the Mountain Pine Beetle, mitigate future impacts and promote regional economic development within the Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic zone. The Government of Canada has committed $340 million since 2002 to help B.C. reduce the impacts of its pine beetle infestation.
• The Province has increased funding by more than $2 billion for local governments since 2001.
• In the Province’s three-year $2.3 billion transportation plan, 75 per cent of spending is for projects outside of the Lower Mainland.
• The environmental assessment review process, including consultations with the public and First Nations, on the proposed Northwest Transmission Line Project along Highway 37 is underway. The proposed power line has the potential to generate or support billions of dollars in capital investment, create thousands of new jobs, open economic opportunities on a global scale in the Northwest, and get remote communities off of diesel-electric power.

For more information:
Ministry of Community Development
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Local Government