I am a small business owner, a minor economic cog in the business that is the City of London. We renovate residential and commercial buildings for clients as well as building single family homes. In addition, I head a real estate company that assists families to buy and sell homes, and investors and businesses buy and sell properties. I am an employer, responsible for more than 20 families — meeting payroll, providing guidance, compassion and support as required. As fuel for our economic engine, in the past year we’ve spent about $1,000,000 on subcontractors… accountants, lawyers, engineers, draftsman, excavators, framers, roofers, siders, drywallers, heating and cooling specialists, electricians, flooring installers, cabinet makers, fireplace installers, deck builders, fence builders, painters, trimers, etc. These trades represent hundreds of families in our community.
My primary role with these companies is meeting with construction and real estate clients. In the past decade I’ve had some 5,000 such meetings. I’ve covered the city, met with every economic demographic you can imagine. This past ten years has been one of ongoing steady economic improvement in our city. What I’ve learned over that decade of client meetings is that, despite the good times, people feel vulnerable. Job security is limited to a few segments of the city’s population in unique and somewhat protected vocations. The rest of us — especially the small business entrepreneur — feel continually at risk, on the precipice.
What makes us feel uneasy? Largely its factors beyond our control. Macroeconomic factors like the value of the dollar affecting imported goods — historically hard to predict. The price of oil — significantly impacting our national economy. Deficits — seemingly always growing and just beyond our control. Geopolitical factors — NAFTA vulnerable to a bully President. Universities and hospitals vulnerable to the whims of a new Saudi leader. Local governance models vulnerable to a new Premier’s priorities.
So here we are in the midst of a municipal election. The only politically expedient message of this election cycle is that it pays to be anti — BRT. Three of the four frontrunners for Mayor are running on that message. Many council candidates are hedging their bets — pro transit but “just not for this plan”. In this environment citizens are left with little option but to feel vulnerable — as if we’re going backwards not forwards.
The BRT is an investment in our community. What kind of investment? An outside investment of $370,000,000 dollars in our city — London. A transit system investment that has been vetted over the last 10 years. An investment in new and expanded roadways. 28km of expanded and improved roadways representing $430,000,000 of the total $500,000,000 spending. $70,000,000 for 38 new transit shelters on our busiest routes, along with buses and other transit infrastructure. Its an investment in our future citizens — 84,000 more will live here in 20 years. That’s 4,000 more citizens every year going forward.
I feel its disrespectful to denigrate our past councillors for the careful and informed decisions they make after we elect them to represent us. No new candidates sat through the hundreds of meetings and 8,500 pages of documents that came in advance of the decision to support the Bus Rapid Transit plan. After an exhaustive review and detailed process, every single councillor backed the recommendations of our esteemed, qualified and well meaning city managers. The solution to move our city forward was obvious and unanimous.
For any candidate for local public office to stand up now and say they know better — with no information, with no consultation, with no benefit of analysis, with no expert studies, with no environmental impacts, with no funding options — these candidates are misleading, disrespectful of their predessors, and not worthy of our trust.
Employment is vulnerable in this city. For any candidate to step forward and say we don’t need the 4,300 person years of jobs created by investing in our transit system is without merit. Its front page news when we lose 25 jobs at a local manufacturing company, and yet by supporting BRT we ensure we bring 4,300 person years of employment to the City… that’s $270,000,000 in local wages! What is the cost to us… $8.00 per household per year — no seriously — that’s the cost to the London taxpayer. Any other reference to cost or BRT tax is a misleading lie. Are you willing to make that investment for a $500,000,000 return — one where virtually all the dollars are spent in our community?
Every candidate says they support transit — and yet we have a fully vetted plan that builds on the current LTC system that generated 23,000,000 rides this past year. You can’t be pro transit and not support BRT. It is the only way transit moves forward in this city during the current generation. We don’t have another 10 years to plan. We can’t afford the lost time or the inevitable increased cost that delay creates. The $370,000,000 is budgeted and ready to be committed by the province and the feds. All we need now is to respect ourselves enough to demand action.
When BRT goes forward, I will likely lose my newly renovated building on Wellington Rd. S. This would of course be an inconvenience, but a price worth paying for an economically vibrant city. If I get bought out, I move, I renovate, I pay trades and fuel the economic engine of our city.
Demand your local government moves forward with BRT. Demand we secure these jobs and this outside investment. Demand this improvement to 28 km of our busiest roadways. Demand the jobs and your tax dollars come back to our city. Demand we finally secure a rapid transit system.
Demand that we Build This City!
