Are there, for lack of a better term, potential “land mines” we should consider with respect to delving into this area of creating a national strategy? What types of things should we be looking for or considering that could be troublesome?
Population density obviously has to be a consideration. The question of whether the federal government jumps into the ongoing operational costs of transit systems may raise fairness questions, I would suspect, in regions where public transit isn't an issue.
With regard to land use planning, I don't know our specific federal-provincial structure and who has responsibility for what. This is why flying blind without any international examples becomes a bit of a problem, too. What can we compare to that has a similar political structure, comparable population densities, and whether or not they do operational costs?
Can you give us some guidance?