A Federal Election Perspective

Brenda Hogg, Regional and Local Councillor
Town of Richmond Hill

In this federal election, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) will be calling on our national leaders to commit to a new intergovernmental partnership and financial arrangement.

Municipalities are the drivers of our national economy but we are constrained by the burden of a $60 billion infrastructure deficit. A deficit that cannot be eliminated without the contribution of other orders of government.

Infrastructure is our municipal skeleton and it directly affects our quality of life and our economic prosperity. Municipal government provides transportation to move people and goods, we build and maintain water filtration plants to ensure safe drinking water, manage sewage and solid-waste disposal, build community centres, police, ambulance, and fireballs and we also provide programs and facilities for residents to engage in social, recreational, and cultural pursuits. These are the essentials of a socially inclusive, creative, economically vibrant community. And those are the attributes of a desirable community, one which will attract youth to build and sustain our economy.

Through FCM’s ‘New Deal’, municipalities across Canada have received a full refund on their Goods and Services Tax amounting to $700 million per year. They have also received a portion of the federal gas tax amounting to $5 billion over five years. That’s at the national level but it still has impact at home. For example, this year Richmond Hill will receive $1.2 million in gas tax revenue which will incrementally increase over the next five years to $4.2 million.

Phase two of FCM’s ‘New Deal’ envisions a Canada where municipal interests are recognized by our federal leaders as essential to the prosperity of the country. In this election, federal leaders need to commit to new revenues for municipalities and a new intergovernmental partnership. Property taxes alone are not sufficient to cover our responsibilities. Other countries provide more revenue streams to their communities and we need those same opportunities if we are to remain competitive.

FCM has created the InfraGuide, a municipal tool which helps municipalities determine ‘best practices’ for building and maintaining our infrastructure. The Quality of Life Reporting System helps municipalities measure the changes within their communities on various human scales. Now our municipalities need a long–term, legislative framework with enhanced intergovernmental cooperation and guaranteed access to new revenues. Once in place, FCM with all their government partners, will act to eliminate the deficit infrastructure within this generation.

Brenda