Madam Speaker, I too rise today to speak on the issue of sharing on a per capita basis a significant and growing portion of the federal excise tax on gasoline to support the infrastructure needs of cities.
Cities are the engines that drive our economy and they are hurting. As Mississauga's legendary mayor, Mayor Hazel McCallion, has said, “If the heart isn't strong the arteries aren't strong”, and Mayor McCallion has a very strong heart.
With 80% of Canadians living in cities, large and small, cities need guaranteed, sustainable and annual funds to address their infrastructure needs, to fix their crumbling infrastructure, to grow their communities, to prevent further decay of existing infrastructure, to initiate projects, and to keep Canada competitive.
Cities do not need politicians who disparage municipal mayors by calling them whiners, and who purport not to be in the business of fixing potholes. At the end of the day there is only one taxpayer and we are all in the business of fixing potholes. Otherwise, we watch our infrastructure crumble.
The Liberal Party has a strong record of robust strategic investments in infrastructure with programs like new deal for municipalities, a proud legacy of previous Liberal governments. The Liberal Party remains committed to working to meet the needs of our cities.
In the 2005 budget the Liberal government agreed to transfer $5 billion of the gas tax over five years and transfer $2 billion annually after 2009. This would have made funding predictable and long term based on allowing municipalities to pool, bank or borrow against this funding providing them with significant additional financial flexibility. To ensure accountability communities would report on the use of the funds on an annual basis.
In the election of 2006 Liberals pledged to make the gas tax transfer permanent, a measure the Conservative government has adopted.
Today the Liberal motion goes one step further by recommending that the gas tax be shared on a per capita basis making distribution more fair and equitable to all municipalities. It is efficient and accountable, and has a proven track record of success.
Mayor Hazel McCallion has been one of the most vocal advocates on the needs of cities through her “cities now” campaign which asks for 1% of the gas tax. Mayor McCallion was one of the first politicians to identify the need for both provincial and federal support for municipalities to facilitate the strengthening of their failing infrastructures.
Mississauga is the sixth largest city in Canada. It is debt free and prudently managed. Tax increases have been kept to a minimum level and the city has amassed an enviable cash reserve of $800 million. Yet, Mississauga has a current infrastructure deficit and needs $75 million annually or $1.5 billion over the next 20 years.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimates that Canada's municipal infrastructure deficit to be $123 billion and rising. It lists over 1,000 shovel ready projects waiting for federal funding. The $14 billion required for all these projects would help address the need for road repairs, water and waste management, municipal building upgrades, public housing and public transit, projects which would create an estimated 150,000 jobs.
The FCM report shows that a $1 billion capital investment in local infrastructure would result in a .13% increase in national GDP and create 11,500 new jobs including 5,400 jobs in the construction industry alone. The FCM cites that the gas tax model is the best way to flow money into these projects quickly so cities and communities can get started on infrastructure projects.
Mayor McCallion noted that cities cannot maintain 58% of the nation's public infrastructure with 8¢ of every $1 as municipalities are currently limited to raising funds through property taxes alone. The gas tax method is one of the most effective ways to channel economic stimulus ensuring the best outcome for Canada's future competitive advantage.
The gas tax is efficient and accountable. Over 95% of the gas tax funds have been delivered to municipalities over the past two years. This will increase immediate economic stimulus and create jobs. The big city mayors caucus recommended that the gas tax process was the fastest way to get money into the hands of municipalities in order to put people to work. Municipalities, such as Mississauga which has shovel ready projects, have been disappointed in the past by the government's web of red tape. The renowned mayor, Hazel McCallion, calls it the “glacial pace at which funding announcements turn into cash”.
Mississauga is still waiting for its share of the $33 billion building Canada fund to flow for projects such as the $52 million bus rapid transit system, the $30 million downtown revitalization project, the $20 million for Sheridan College, the $10 million for Burnhamthorpe Branch Library, the $8 million for fire halls, and the $4 million for pathway lighting, just to name a few. This is a total of $124 million worth of projects, shovel ready, but plagued with long bureaucratic delays.
Mississauga is anxious to begin working on construction of its $259 million bus rapid transit line and other projects. When will the money start to flow?
