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Even the legislature janitor would need gloves and tongs to handle this thing, it’s so politically toxic.

“I understand most of the mayors are taking a cautious approach to the contents of the report, I think I’ll follow suit,” Horgan told reporters on Friday in Vancouver. “If it meets our objectives of affordability then we can proceed. My expectation at this point is that the mayors that commissioned the report are not enthusiastic about the contents. So I’ll wait to see how they want to proceed. It was their report.”

Photo by Francis Georgian / PNG

The NDP government will be careful not to dump on the report too much in public. It was a creation of the Mayors’ Council, with whom Horgan is trying to repair relations after years of war under the previous Liberal government.

No doubt, the government’s vast army of spin doctors is working away to come up with the perfectly-crafted response that acknowledge the commission’s “good work” (read: thanks for nothing), it’s “interesting ideas” (read: we wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole), the “need for more study and consultation” (read: until the idea is so dead it’s not moving anymore), while acknowledging “we all agree steps have to be taken to improve Metro Vancouver congestion” (read: just not this, please god not this).

Scrapping the bridge tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges was a major vote-getter for the NDP in 2017. It came with a promise to making housing more affordable, and to improve life affordability in general for Metro residents who are struggling to get by. The response was an orange wave of support for the NDP, and ultimately a minority government after 16 years in opposition.