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The objective might be somewhat undercut by the news that the province is phasing out many of its stand-alone trade and investment offices. They will be replaced with subsidiary enclaves inside Canada’s overseas consulates.

As to the rationale for all this, the plan notes that the province is scheduled to add a million people over the next 30 years.

“B.C. will need a bold new approach to plan for and invest in the transportation systems and community infrastructure of the future. This will include planning across regional boundaries and making deliberate decisions about how and where B.C. can grow without increasing congestion on our trade corridors, impacting affordability or creating additional GHG emissions through longer commutes.”

Failing that, the plan offers a cautionary tale, drawn from the past two decades of provincial history.

“B.C.’s population grew by close to a million people, with much of the population increase concentrated in the Lower Mainland.”

The region was unprepared for growth of that scale.

“Demand for housing, public services and infrastructure exceeded supply, with particularly acute impacts for housing affordability. Higher demand led to sharp increases in the cost of rental and market housing, and those with lower incomes were squeezed out — or sometimes forced out through ‘renoviction’ — of housing they could no longer afford. Families moved farther away from their work in order to find housing within their means, resulting in longer commute times and growing congestion problems.”

All true enough, but not without its ironies in political terms.

The fallout from runaway and unplanned growth is one reason why the New Democrats picked up 10 seats in Metro Vancouver in the last election and the B.C. Liberals lost their legislative majority.

By moving now to better manage growth in Metro Vancouver, the New Democrats will be steering some investment away from their newest power base and toward some places that stuck with the B.C. Liberals.

vpalmer@postmedia.com