Delta council seems to have lost hope for a second exit at River Road when the new Fraser River tunnel is built, but Delta’s representative in Ottawa remains positive that the cheque is in the mail.
Her most up-to-date conversation is that the process is continuing for the project, as is any future funding announcement from the government.
“There is no issue. There are no red flags,” said Carla Qualtrough, Liberal MP and federal sports minister.
She said in a recent interview with the Optimist that she has no concerns at all about federal money being available for the project.
“Absolutely, my expectation is before the election, (in October) there will be a public announcement, but I can’t guarantee that. But it’s happening,” Qualtrough said.
Delta council is trying to get a meeting with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming to discuss the issue at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in September.
And the Transportation Investment Corp. has told council it’s proceeding with the tunnel’s environmental assessment and procurement for the project as it currently stands, without the full exit at River Road, unless the province says it has the federal money.
Mayor George Harvie has said previously that he’s lost confidence in the federal government.
Qualtrough spoke with the Optimist during a mid-summer break for Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plummeting in the polls.
Qualtrough though is committed to the Liberal leader.
“The prime minister has my full support,” she said, adding the recent byelection loss in a Liberal stronghold in Toronto in June was a tough loss and not the outcome they wanted.
The Angus Reid Institute’s Trudeau Tracker shows a 66 percent disapproval rating in April while only 28 percent approved.
Qualtrough said it’s up to the Liberal Party to work to restore support and confidence among voters.
“We have to do what it takes to show Canadians that we want to make life easier and more fair for everyone. That’s where the work needs to be done,” she said.
Following a cabinet and caucus retreat, she expects the party to come back to Parliament in mid-September with a new strategy.
She said the priority should be to deliver on their promises and to get out the news about policy successes.
The government recently announced that open-net salmon aquaculture on the B.C. coast will be banned by June 2029.
The process wasn’t as quick as many would like but it takes time to make the transition in a large industry in a responsible way, she added.
Qualtrough is vice-chair of the global affairs and public security committee in cabinet and she said she doesn’t have a position on releasing the name of MPs accused of conniving with foreign governments and hesitates to say yes until she understands the consequences of releasing those names.
“But I’m completely open to being convinced that it should be done and that there are safeguards that we could use to doing it,” she said, adding she doesn’t have confidence yet that releasing the names will not jeopardize national security or individuals’ safety.
But she also wants Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to get security clearance so that he can read the June report done by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians which said that some MPs are knowingly or not collaborating in foreign interference.
Then perhaps political leaders can meet and discuss.
“I think it’s super convenient that he’s not getting that clearance. It allows him to criticize and not be part of the solution,” she said. “I wish he would just get the clearance, read the names and then take an informed position.”
A Nanos Research poll done for the Globe and Mail in July found that 68 percent of those surveyed wanted the names of MPs accused of foreign interference released.
With a year remaining before an election, Qualtrough said she’ll keep working hard, saying she doesn’t take anything for granted. She said it’s her job to show that she still has the energy and is still delivering for Delta and to keep on improving on that.
