WHAT’S AN EXTRA HALF MILLION CARS ON VANCOUVER ROADS !!
Over the past month, Immigration Watch Canada has done two banner displays on two very busy freeways, one in the Toronto area and the latest in Metro Vancouver. The banners have displayed the following basic message : “FIGHT GRIDLOCK : CUT IMMIGRATION.” Politicians at all three levels of government should have absorbed this message many years ago, but have not.
The scale of traffic gridlock in Metro Vancouver is just short of astounding. According to a major study that was done this year, Metro Vancouver has the worst traffic congestion in all of Canada. Even more shameful, Metro Vancouver is the third worst congested area in all of both North America and South America !!
Let’s say that again : Metro Vancouver has the worst gridlock in all of Canada and the third worst in the Americas. For worse areas in South America, go to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. For less congested areas in North America, go to the fabled gridlocked highways of Los Angeles !!
The ultimate cause of the gridlock problem is the belief that endless numbers of people can fit into any area on the planet. According to many politicians, the answer to the gridlock problem is to spend billions on new roads and bridges. According to the green-wash politicians, the answer is to spend billions on transit.
The real answer is to cut unnecessary inflows of people, particularly unnecessary immigration, and to stabilize the population. In other words, our federal government should be asking why it thinks Canada can take endless inflows of people. It should then take steps to cut unnecessary inflows—particularly to its cities.
As we have said before, Canada’s unnecessary immigration and unnecessary population growth started in 1991. From then to 2013, Metro Vancouver’s population increased from 1.6 million to 2.4 million. This was an increase of roughly 840,000.
Furthermore, almost all of those 840,000 newcomers to Vancouver did not migrate from other parts of Canada. In fact, over 83% of that additional 840,000 population were immigrants.
Unless unnecessary immigration stops, Metro Vancouver’s population is predicted to increase by another million over the next 25 years. Metro Vancouver is part of a larger area generally referred to as the Lower Mainland which is currently home to close to 1.3 million vehicles.
According to a June 3, 2014 article in The Province newspaper, “That number could jump to 2 million vehicles in the Lower Mainland in the next 25 to 30 years.” That prediction of an increase of 700,000 vehicles came from a recent study by the Business Council of B.C.
Provincial and Municipal politicians like to say that immigration is a federal issue and that provinces and municipalities have no control over this matter. Our answer is that it is immoral for provincial or municipal politicians to claim that they have no power to influence immigration policy. If provincial and municipal politicians pressure MP’s, a number of MP’s will quickly realize that they will be looking for alternate employment after the next election if they don’t get off their rear ends. They need a good shove.
Traffic gridlock is part of a bigger picture : Canada is experiencing the greatest demographic change in its history. This enormous change is completely unjustified and completely senseless. Pretending to be powerless during the course of such a fundamental change is a treacherous excuse from anyone, but especially from those who live off the public purse.
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For details, see http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/vancouver-has-canada-s-worst-traffic-congestion-study-says-1.1113171
