Mayor David Miller chaired the two-day summit where the mayors from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax Regional Municipality unanimously agreed that the federal allocation of the fuel tax revenue to each province must be based on a specific formula.
A large percentage of the funding will reflect fuel consumption and a smaller percentage will reflect transit ridership. Where it is a municipal priority, a minimum of 25 per cent of each province's share must be dedicated to public transit infrastructure.
This is the first step to establishing a new relationship with the province and federal governments to ensure that the City's financial resources match its service responsibilities.
The mayors also commended the federal government's decision to:
provide a down payment on the New Deal for Canada's cities by rebating 100 per cent of the GST paid by municipalities.
provide a voice for the interests and needs of Canada's cities at the Cabinet table by appointing the Honourable John Godfrey as the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities.
They were similarly encouraged by Prime Minister Martin's commitment to invest in children, families and affordable housing.
The mayors have given the federal and provincial governments until the end of 2004 to finalize agreements on sharing federal fuel tax revenues with the cities.
For more information on the Mayor's Summit and the fuel tax revenue plan read Mayors' Summit Communiqué (PDF). You will need to have the latest version of the FREE Acrobat Reader to view this PDF communiqé.
