The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) last week joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in challenging federal election candidates and party leaders to explain how they would work with municipalities to keep Canadian communities safe, secure, prosperous and healthy.
Locally, many politicians are supporting the moves by both of the municipal lobbying groups.
“Many local issues are too big and too complex for any single order of government to solve independently,” said AMO President Peter Hume.
“The federal government must work in partnership with provincial and municipal governments to make meaningful progress on infrastructure investment, transit, environmental protection, and housing. These issues demand national attention.”
AMO and municipal governments in Ontario are looking for commitments on issues that affect Ontario communities. Key among them are stable, predictable infrastructure funding, federal investment in housing and homelessness programs, and fair treatment for Ontario in national programs, including economic development, job training, immigration and federal employment insurance.
“AMO supports the questions [the federation] is asking during this election and we hope all Canadians will recognize the importance of asking these questions when they meet with local candidates,” said Hume.
Around the county, some municipal mayors were asked about lobbying federal candidates. Mapleton Mayor and Wellington County Warden John Green said the issue is one that must face all candidates.
“We’re going to become an infrastructure ghetto in the next ten years if we don’t get some financing,” Green predicted.
He cited the federation study that shows municipalities are short $123-billion to fix crumbling roads, bridges, sewage treatment plants, and drinking water protection, as well as other infrastructure.
Green said a substantial part of the deficit is in Ontario, and he added lobbying should not just be to MPs, but “the entire national government – not just those in power.”
Puslinch Mayor Brad Whitcombe was recently elected to the FCM board of directors, and said of AMO’s announcement, “I think that’s wonderful.”
He said he reported on the FCM decision to his council, but it has yet to discuss a lobbying strategy.
However, he said municipalities have other deficits that are not often seen, and they are now responsible for social housing, child care, and homelessness.
Whitcombe said half of the country’s infrastructure is owned by municipalities, but those governments are “the least equipped to close that [funding] gap. It’s really beyond municipalities. It’s going to get worse.
Whitcombe said solving infrastructure problems would solve a number of other issues, because such spending will put people to work, create healthy communities and that would create a stronger country.
Whitcombe noted that such things as homelessness and housing and providing areas of growth for immigration is not really the responsibility of municipalities, but they are the ones feeling those effects.
“We’re doing a lot of stuff for the feds,” he said, adding that rural areas such as Wellington County are where underfunding of infrastructure really hits home.
Erin Mayor Rod Finnie said his council was meeting Monday night and might discuss the AMO proposal.
“I can say as mayor, that I support the position of AMO and the FCM,” Finnie said. “Dependable, consistent funding for infrastructure costs have been the rallying cry for municipalities for a number of years. In our case, we may have to construct sewage infrastructure in the next 5 to 10 years, as we are the largest municipality in Ontario without a sewage treatment system.
Finnie noted, “The most recent municipality that faced that problem [Bradford] ended up with a bill in excess of $60-million. If you divide that cost up among the approximate 1,500 households on municipal water, you can see that the cost is prohibitive, so we need additional partners if that is deemed to be an environmental priority.”
Finnie said there are other areas, too, where municipalities and the other government levels must work together.
“On environmental protection, again, we need co-ordination and co-operation among the three levels of government. The issues on the one hand are too big to be local and too local to be only addressed federally or provincially.
“I sit on the Credit Valley Conservation board and see that ever more issues are arriving on their doorstep (source water protection, and climate change), but there is no federal funding, only limited provincial funding (approximately $180,000), with the rest (approximately. $17.5-million) coming from municipalities.
Finnie, too, sees infrastructure funding as a way to solve other issues.
“With the economic downturn hitting manufacturing hard, and in particular the auto sector, we need program to retrain workers, and provide them with a safety net that is comparable to other parts of Canada. That is not currently in place.
“Housing is another issue that is critical. The county is building 55 new affordable units with provincial money in Centre Wellington, but the need exists in every community, and the federal government has indicated that they are pulling out of the funding of social housing. We need their support, along with the province, to create realistic amounts of housing.
He also cited social pro-gram help.
“We also need funding for shelter programs. At our last social services committee meeting, we heard about youths in Fergus living under the bridge, because they had no homes. They need short-term shelter so that they have an address, and can then look for employment which will help them provide for themselves.”
Finnie added he would also like to see more transit funding, because higher gas prices affect rural areas more than cities.
“I have advocated for a localized bus system which would take people in Erin to the GO station in Georgetown, and thereby reduce their dependence on the automobile.
“When I asked for people’s input on how to spend our $622,000, that issue was raised as a potential location for the money. A great number of workers in Centre Wellington travel to Guelph every day and a bus would benefit them as well.”
Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj was planning to have her council consider questions to put before all the federal election candidates.
“I’m very pleased [with the AMO announcement]. It was very important at this time that municipalities across Canada get this on the agenda,” she said of the federal election campaign.
She cited the same issues as other municipal mayors, and said Canadians need a strong, health country, and “That means municipalities have to be functional.
She said she hopes to work with council on questions for all the candidates, send them, and “see what we get back. It’s important that they know our concerns.
Details about the federation’s announcement of the deficit and its 2008 federal election report, Canada’s Cities and Communities: Securing our Future, are available on federation’s website, www.fcm.ca/en/election2008<http://www.fcm.ca/en/election2008. The federation represents the interests of Canadian municipalities on policy and program matters that fall within federal jurisdiction.
