Toronto Star

Paul Martin has promised a new deal for cities. Yesterday, Toronto MP John Godfrey was named the man to make good on the new Prime Minister's pledge. The politician from Don Valley West was sworn in as parliamentary secretary responsible for cities yesterday afternoon and became the point man for one of Martin's top priorities — striking a new relationship with Canada's urban centres. "He said, `I've talked about a new deal for cities. We need to make it happen,'" Godfrey said, recalling the phone call he got from Martin on Thursday. "It's a great file. In some ways, it's the biggest file around because it touches 80 per cent of the people," Godfrey said. Urban boosters say it's significant that on the day Martin took charge of the government, cities were front and centre in his comments and priorities.