Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj and a large number of township officials were unable to sway the federal government – for now.
Ross-Zuj returned from Ottawa on Saturday afternoon after several days of lobbying the federal government for help with infrastructure as part of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and its federal counterpart, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Ross-Zuj said in an inter view that the municipal lobby ists were placed in teams and met with 95 MPs and senators during their efforts over several days.
“It was a real united front,” she said. “Every single province was there, and one territory.”
Unfortunately, “We got our hands slapped,” the mayor conceded. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty simply told the lobbyists there would be no cash, and that was that. Ross-Zuj added that members of the governing Conservative Party were cold to even seeing the lobbyists – except for the Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong, who could offer sym pathy and support, but no cash.
“I was so proud of Michael Chong.
He was there for us,” she said. “What a breath of fresh air he was.”
She added, “The number of Conservatives who refused to see us was mind boggling.”
She noted that Liberal and NDP members were receptive, but as opposition parties, they can make as many promises as they wish, but have no power to implement them.
Ross-Zuj did note that everyone on Parliament Hill is now aware that Centre Welling ton has 104 bridges.
All the rep resentatives wore their buttons, which state that number.
“My team was singing it,” she said, laughing. “How many bridges in Centre Wellington?”
The municipalities have been strapped for cash for over seven years.
The federal government cut payments to provinces starting in the 1990s, and
the provinces, in turn, down loaded services onto municipalities, leaving them to struggle with raising taxes or seeing infrastructure crumble, or both.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has released a study that states close to 80 per cent of Canada’s infrastructure is past its service life.
Most of that infrastructure is owned and operated by municipalities.
The report also sets the price for eliminating the muni cipal infrastructure debt at $133-billion.
