Thank you very much.
Good morning, everybody.
My name is Allan Earle. I'm president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association. At this time, I'd also like to introduce another official from our organization, SUMA's vice-president for cities and my colleague, Fred Clipsham.
We are a federation of urban governments that works to improve legislation, programs, and services to enhance urban life in Saskatchewan. SUMA's members represent 75% of Saskatchewan's population.
I wish to thank all members of the committee for being here today and for providing us the opportunity to address you this morning.
Saskatchewan is experiencing a tremendous amount of economic growth, and urban municipalities are on the front lines of this growth. Saskatchewan needs strong, viable urban centres with the capacity to foster and encourage growth, and that means we need the continued support of our federal government.
On behalf of our members, we have five key recommendations for your consideration here today.
As Canada addresses the implications of the worldwide economic downturn, municipalities are making progress in tackling the massive municipal infrastructure deficit. To that end, we are pleased to have assurances from the Government of Canada that municipal programs, including the GST rebate and gas tax programs, will be protected from cutbacks. The importance of these programs cannot be overstated, and we wish to acknowledge the major role these programs have played in the success of infrastructure projects in our province.
Over the last decade, the federal government has invested almost $1.2 billion per year in application-based infrastructure programs like the Canada strategic infrastructure fund, the municipal-rural infrastructure fund, and the Building Canada fund. This funding has been a necessary, but not sufficient, element in helping municipalities address the growing infrastructure deficit.
However, the ad hoc and short-term nature of these programs has made it hard for municipalities to count on funding to build and maintain projects. We believe the federal government should extend these programs at least at current levels and consider adopting funding models similar to the GST rebate and gas tax programs.
I am going to turn this over to my colleague.