Mayor Calls for Federal Action on Affordable Housing and Transportation

Mayor Dennis O’Keefe has joined big city mayors from across Canada in calling on provincial, territorial and federal partners to work with cities to fix the affordable housing shortage and improve aging transportation systems, two key impediments to growth.
 
Mayor O’Keefe issued the call in Ottawa, where members of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Big City Mayors Caucus were gathered for their semi-annual meeting on Feb. 26.
 
“Communities like St. John’s are taking action to attract investment, talent and jobs,” said Mayor O’Keefe. “But if we are going to protect and improve the quality of life for our residents, we must see federal leadership on critical issues like housing, infrastructure and transportation.”
 
Across Canada one-third of municipal roads need significant repairs according to FCM. Each year, traffic costs the economy $10 billion in lost productivity and the average commuter spends 34 days in his or her car. The City of St. John’s is taking the lead on developing a regional transportation plan with our municipal partners, but investment from all levels of government will be required to deal with the growing metropolitan area.
 
Meanwhile, the high-costs of home ownership and shortages of affordable and rental housing are driving Canadians deeper into debt, and pushing the most vulnerable on to the street. The City of St. John’s is taking positive steps forward with its recent announcement of a new attainable housing project in the Shea Heights area, but all stakeholders, particularly the federal government, need to come to the table with real long-term solutions.
 
Mayor O’Keefe joined the other big city mayors as they called for Canada to take practical steps to build stronger cities and a stronger economy.
 
First, federal and provincial governments must guarantee a lion’s share of the New Building Canada Fund for municipal projects, including public transit. Second, the federal government must take action to avert a housing disaster by developing a long-term housing plan for next year’s budget that will make life more affordable for Canadians and reverse the withdrawal of existing federal social housing investments worth $1.7 billion per year.
 
Local leaders in Canada were disappointed that the 2014 federal budget failed to deliver real solutions to Canada’s housing crunch. And while local governments welcomed news that the Building Canada Fund is one step closer to reality, concerns remain that it will not be enough to improve transit and shorten commutes.
 
The mayors also objected to proposed new federal funding rules that would make it more difficult to meet local needs in areas such as roads, and sports and recreation.
 
“While we are making great progress in other areas, the national housing crunch and aging infrastructure are holding this city back,” says Mayor O’Keefe. “We need to fix this because our future depends on keeping cities like St. John’s strong.”
 
 
The BCMC represents 22 of the largest cities in Canada which, collectively, are home to more than 65 per cent of Canada’s population.
 
 
For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca
 
Dennis O’Keefe
Mayor
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 364-1919
E-mail: dokeefe@stjohns.ca