Robertson told a news conference afterwards that it’s refreshing to have a prime minister who treats cities with respect.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that stance on Thursday, telling reporters, “I’ve been saying for years that the Great Bear Rainforest is no place for an oil pipeline, (and) that continues to be my position”.
He spent the morning meeting with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson as the two discussed issues such as infrastructure, affordable housing and climate change.
Trudeau and Robertson met for half an hour after squeezing through a crowded City Hall where hundreds of city employees crowded onto the second-floor balconies to snap pictures as Trudeau greeted the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations chiefs and a line of city officials.
Robertson presented Trudeau with a small present, a photograph of his father making his visit 42 years ago with former Mayor Art Phillips.
The visit was largely symbolic, resulting in no new announcements but marking the first prime ministerial trip to Vancouver city hall since 1973.
The Harper government “spent a lot of time talking about strength and tough and taking swings at all of its opponents”, the prime minister said. He recalled walking through Jericho Park during the election campaign but had no idea about his dad’s connection to it.
Trudeau said the government has dedicated $20 billion in transit funding over the next 10 years.
Trudeau may have been light on details, but the mayor praised his government and said the city is excited to work with him.
And for anyone – even our wildly popular prime minister – to suggest otherwise is to blow a lot of smoke.
However, he said, he is happy to share his feelings on the politics of division.
In Canada, starting in 1874, 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis children in Canada were forcibly enrolled in 139 boarding schools run by Christian churches – including the Catholic Church – on behalf of the federal government in an effort to integrate them into society.
He thanked Trudeau for following through with an election promise to reopen the Kitsilano coast guard station after it was shuttered by the Conservatives in 2013.
Trudeau spoke in response for a while but never answered the question.
“I’m excited as I always am to be back here in Vancouver”.
“Obviously the Criminal Code will need to be adjusted if we’re going to control and regulate, and that’s something the federal government will do, but when it comes to distribution, when it comes to selling and engaging, obviously the provinces and indeed the municipalities will have to be an integral part of that discussion.”
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“The one thing that we made very, very clear was that there needs to be social licence, there needs to be public trust before projects like these can go ahead”.
