Support for Federation of Canadian Municipalities Action to

Promote Municipal Infrastructure in the Millennium Budget

The Works Committee recommends the adoption of the resolution embodied in the following communication (June 28, 1999) from Councillor Jack Layton, Don River; and further recommends that more emphasis be given to investment in public transit:

Recommendation:

That the following resolution be adopted:

"WHEREAS the FCM-inspired $8.3 billion, six-year Canada Infrastructure Works Program (CIWP) - described by Prime Minister Jean Chretien at the FCM 1998 Annual Conference, as "... one of the proudest achievements of our government" - exceeded original projections, funding 17,000 projects that created assets of lasting value and generated more than 130,000 short-term jobs, and set a new standard for intergovernmental cooperation in Canada; and

WHEREAS the CIWP could not fully address Canada's long-term infrastructure needs given the extent of the problem revealed in various FCM studies completed between 1985 and 1996; and

WHEREAS the City of Toronto has benefitted from the CIWP but still has a number of outstanding infrastructure projects which it cannot finance out of municipal revenues alone; and

WHEREAS FCM is dedicated to improving the quality of life in all communities; and

WHEREAS the Millennium budget offers an opportunity for achieving an improved quality of life and ensuring sustainable communities; and

WHEREAS the FCM National Board of Directors has endorsed a new long-term national infrastructure program with environmental benefits as a component of a sustainable communities strategy; and

WHEREAS the FCM proposal, with the theme "Clean Air, Clean Water, Clean Soil", calls for flexibility to accommodate equally the needs of rural/small communities and large municipalities, supporting:

-waste management systems (waste diversion, product stewardship, upgrading landfill sites, methane capture, upgrading incineration technology to meet new requirements for dioxins and furans and mercury emissions);

-water efficiency (water conservation, sewage upgrades to reduce contaminants in water effluent and water treatment alternatives such as settling ponds and wetlands);

-energy efficiency (alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, vehicle emissions testing, and public transit);

-mobility (investment in road repair and upgrades, commuter rail, and advanced technology public transit like Ballard Fuel Cell buses); and

-main-street and urban core renewal; and

WHEREAS such investments will create jobs, reduce pollution, save taxpayers money resulting from reduced health and environmental damage, improve the efficiency of the economy and make Canada more competitive, productive and innovative; and

WHEREAS Canada is a leader in environmental technologies;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto endorses the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) call for a long-term national core municipal infrastructure program highlighting environmental benefits, in the federal Millennium Budget; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto, through letters, personal meetings and/or other communications, will urge local Members of Parliament to support FCM's Millennium Budget proposal and to communicate their support to the Minister of Finance; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto through letters, personal meetings and/or other communications, will urge the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, other members of the federal Cabinet and members of the Government of Ontario to support FCM's Millennium Budget proposal; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto will communicate the urgent need for a new municipal infrastructure program with environmental benefits to neighbouring communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City of Toronto will communicate to local media and the public our support for FCM's Millennium Budget proposal.

Background:

Since meeting with FCM in January to discuss the federal budget, Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin has indicated interest publicly in FCM's call for a new core municipal infrastructure program with environmental benefits in the Year 2000 federal budget (Millennium Budget).

FCM's strategy over the next few months will include a funding proposal to the federal government, technical and economic analyses to update FCM's data and to build a compelling case, and a communication plan, all supporting the call for a new program.

FCM's environmental infrastructure proposal is the first phase of an integrated approach to improving the quality of life of all Canadians. FCM sees the Millennium Budget as an opportunity to highlight and promote other FCM priority issues that could enhance the quality of life and ensure sustainable communities. These include affordable housing and action on homelessness, child/youth welfare and a national highway program.

At the January meeting with FCM President, Deputy Mayor Claude Cantin (Quebec City, Quebec) and Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt (Laval, Quebec), Chair of the FCM Standing Committee on Municipal Finance, the Finance Minister expressed interest in working with FCM to address both environmental concerns and Canada's municipal infrastructure deficit in a single program.

To further FCM's objectives, Mayor Vaillancourt and James Knight, Executive Director of the FCM, appeared before the House of Commons Finance Committee Round Table on Infrastructure Investment and Productivity on May 4. Cross-Canada hearings before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance are to begin soon. FCM President Cantin, Mayor Vaillancourt and Municipal Infrastructure Chair, Councillor Roger Mareschal (Aylmer, Quebec) and possibly other Directors, will participate in these hearings on FCM's behalf. Members will receive advisories regularly as the strategy evolves and results of analyses become available.

Fundamental to achieving success, as always, is the hands-on involvement of every FCM member - provincial/territorial/municipal associations and municipal governments. That is why I encourage support for FCM's call for a new long-term, municipal infrastructure program with environmental benefits, and to open discussion on this matter with local Members of Parliament, federal ministers, including the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister, and provincial/territorial legislators. Members are also encouraged to seek participation in the cross-Canada Finance Committee hearings on the Millennium Budget.

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The following persons appeared before the Works Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:

-Ms. Joan Doiron, and submitted material with respect thereto; and

-Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, High Park.