Denis Coderre says Montreal voted for 'change'

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderresays voters in the city clearly voted for "change" in last night's federal election, whichsaw the Liberals take40 seats in Quebec and win a big majority in the House of Commons.

"We now have a government that respects Montreal and respects Montrealers," Coderre, a former Liberal MP and cabinet minister, told a news conference this afternoon.

The Liberals wonback seats fromthe NDP in severalMontrealridings that have traditionally voted red,includingtwo West Island ridingsandHonor-Mercierin the northeast.

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Coderresaid he's hopeful the dispute overhis city's plan to dump raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River will be quickly resolved by the Liberals.

He said he's still waiting for Environment Canada to approve the proposal, but he's confident the new government will handle the situation more fairly than its predecessor did, after the Conservativesput the plan on holdthe weekbefore the election.

"Wehad a government who tried to play politics onMontrealers' backs," he said.

"We want to have a government that wants to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."

During the election campaign, Coderreoffered up a lengthy, $2-billion wish list to the federal parties that included increased funding for social housing, public transit and insfrastructure.

Coderre reiteratedmany of the same priorities at the news conferencealongside Magdalen Islands MayorJonathan Lapierre.

Coderre said he wants to make sure the Liberal government makes the following issues a priority:

• Montreal's continued rejection oftolls on the newChamplain Bridgeand theend of door-to-door mail delivery.
• Federal funding for Montreal's 375th anniversary,including the lighting of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
• Supervised safe injection sites Coderre asked thefederal government to uphold the Supreme Court's decision in the matterand grant exemptionsso that Montreal can establish such sites.
• Reinvestment in Radio-Canada, which is headquartered in downtown Montreal.