Welcome to Edmonton. I apologize for not speaking French.
My city's economic reality has changed a lot in a year. One year ago we were managing a boom. This year our economy has slowed significantly. Like you, we are streamlining our spending priorities while investing in major infrastructure, which has the dual purpose of building the city's infrastructure and supporting economic growth.
It is clear that when it comes to stimulating economic recovery, Ottawa understands that this is a city issue. It is also clear that when the government points to cities like Edmonton, money spent here quickly recycles into economic output.
All this means that our goals are aligned. We already know that we have common constituents, which means that the targets of our efforts are the same. What remains is to understand that the actual application of federal policies and programs needs to better reflect our common goals. This is a question of not just the size of allocation but of structure and delivery.
I want to go over two main themes, but first I'd like to talk about process.
Big-city mayors have long called for the federal government to take meaningful steps towards addressing the infrastructure deficit. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that the government response to this recession does focus on this very issue, and the commitments have been significant. Edmonton is the beneficiary of federal commitments; $25 million, as an example, is being spent in transit upgrades that were applied across our system to help make it more effective. These upgrades complement the successful south line extension, which was made possible by leveraging a gas tax transfer, which was already leveraged to finance a $700 million extension.
In addition, the $75 million announced by the federal government, plus matching provincial and municipal funds, will allow us to build the first leg of our NAIT line, in a project worth more than $200 million.
We appreciate the political and funding support we have received for these projects, as well as the efforts of our local representatives to align federal spending with city priorities, but the city has done their share too. We've invested close to $1.8 billion this year in infrastructure. We're committing debt financing for large-scale projects, such as LRT and new multi-purpose recreational facilities. We have earmarked an increase in tax of 2% a year to cover neighbourhood renewals. We have also introduced a new program, called Community Revitalization, that will allow us to pay for major rehabilitation.
I'm talking so quickly because my speech was longer than five minutes.
What we should notice, in all of these initiatives, is that they allow us to create long-term funding pools for financing purposes. Just as the city's budgeting has migrated support for this type of cash management, so too must federal funding. It must be delivered in a long-term, sustainable form under a program that allows for fast scale-up and easy flow-through. When the goal is to see a quick distribution of funds, the funding mechanism is of equal importance to the funding amount.
An increasing part of our infrastructure need is found in larger, system-wide investment that can only be addressed with long-term, stable financing, which in turn allows us to leverage funds and manage major projects. The best example of this is the gas tax. It is a tool that meets most urgently the needs we have, as cities, for long-term investment.
We accept that our goals are the same and the people we serve are the same. The missing component is certainty. Without it, our SLRT line expansion would not have been built. Under this program, we understand what we can expect. We know how to react to it and how to plan. We can balance between immediate small-scale needs and the need to tackle some of the bigger challenges. We allocate money accordingly. The accountability framework is similarly straightforward and transparent.
Further, under this program, certainty means that we do not compete with provincial priorities, nor do we apply for funds at the same pool as community stakeholders, many of whom not only compete with our funding but also come to us to ask for money to match the federal funding. Under the gas tax framework, cities are treated as a significant economic partner, not as a separate entity.
This brings me to the next major point I would like to address today, which is the need to better align federal goals and objectives with the on-the-ground realities in places like Edmonton.
Edmonton has received great political support on files. Our urban aboriginal file is an example. The minister has a very strong understanding of the reality that the issues of off-reserve migration have created in Edmonton. The desire to address this issue with new and unique partnerships allows us to better integrate members of our aboriginal community in our city.
But the reality is that gaps exist between objectives and procedures. Program alignment does not match political will. Thus, resources are not easily applied where they are most needed, as in the case of a city like Edmonton, which is becoming Canada's largest aboriginal community. Here, the real challenge for the government is not what is being spent--indeed, I cannot believe that sufficient resources are not available--but the urgent need to facilitate changes in the institutional and jurisdictional processes that prevent resources from being targeted where they are most needed.
Just as with the overall approach to funding, new and innovative approaches are needed to reflect the reality of the issues we face. Processes need to acknowledge that today's aboriginal communities exist in cities like Edmonton. Resources must follow the need or we'll all regret what could happen in the future. A new order must be found to allow us to better match our goals with what's really happening on the ground.
There's a common theme to what I've said today. Very quickly, it is that truly solving issues cannot be done when cities of the size and skill of Edmonton remain mere provincial stakeholders. As your partner, we need certainty and alignment to be built into our processes. We need to be able to break through barriers to become full partners who are going to solve problems and create opportunities alongside the federal and provincial partners. The key to our shared success will be in applying solutions to allow us to begin to overcome some of those challenges.
I speak to you today not simply about the need to apply money to our issues but about the much more urgent need to overcome the structural challenges that hinder our flexibility, our nimbleness, and ultimately our success.
Thank you very much.