Big City Mayors' Caucus Want New Deal

Mayor Dennis O’Keefe was in Ottawa last week for a meeting with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Big City Mayors’ Caucus and he is standing with other mayors from across the country asking for a new infrastructure plan from the federal government.

"The current Building Canada agreement will expire in 2014 and we are asking the federal government to step to the plate and help Canadian municipalities address the infrastructure deficit facing cities across the country," says Mayor O’Keefe. "We are asking the federal government to commit to a new 20-year infrastructure funding plan with a $2.5 billion increase over the current Building Canada program for a total investment of $5.75 billion."

In addition to an enhanced infrastructure program, the Mayors of Canada’s largest 22 cities are also asking the federal government to index the funding municipalities receive from the Gas Tax. Funding from the Gas Tax is used for road infrastructure projects.

"It is becoming increasingly costly to conduct street upgrades throughout the country, however the funding we receive from the Gas Tax has remained steady," says Mayor O’Keefe. "We need the Gas Tax indexed to the inflation rate or the amount of funding we receive will allow us to do less and less road work each year."

The Mayor points out that the federal government has been a good partner with cities in addressing infrastructure issues, however with all of Canada’s cities facing mounting infrastructure deficits they need both levels of government, federal and provincial, to do more.

"Just in St. John’s alone we are facing an infrastructure deficit of more than $400 million in our Department of Engineering alone," says Mayor O’Keefe. "Canadian municipalities get eight cents of every tax dollar raised in this country. We need both levels of government to provide more to municipalities so we can continue to provide the basic core services which our residents depend upon on a daily basis."