On behalf of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, or SARM, I would like to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to participate in this year's pre-budget consultations.
I am Roy Orb, vice-president of SARM and reeve of the RM of Cupar No. 218.
We appreciate the occasion to discuss the three overarching recommendations that we put forth in our written submission to the committee for consideration in the development of the 2015 federal budget, all of which fit well with the pre-budget hearing on ensuring prosperous and secure communities, including through support for infrastructure.
As an association that represents all 296 rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, it is not surprising that the issues of the utmost importance to SARM are those that impact the quality of life and resource development in rural communities. Consequently, the three areas in which we have formally asked both Finance Canada and this committee to consider providing funding in this next budget centre on the access to reliable and well-designed road infrastructure that rural residents and industry depend on daily.
Before I raise those three recommendations, I'd like to thank the federal government for the new Building Canada plan. We appreciate the indexed payments through the gas tax fund, which is well utilized by our member municipalities, the goods and service tax rebate, as well as the continued commitment of the government to the new Building Canada fund.
This leads me to our first general recommendation. RMs in Saskatchewan are relatively unique in that they have small populations, large land bases, and a growing responsibility for the country's exports. Resource-based industries, which are vital to the Canadian economy as a whole, depend on rural roads and bridges for the safe and efficient transportation of personnel and inputs, and to transport goods to market. Without adequate funding, rural municipalities are less likely to be able to afford to keep up and build, as needed, the safe and efficient infrastructure to support the country's economic drivers.
ln order to ensure that funding under the national Building Canada fund supports Canada's economic drivers, SARM would like to recommend that: one, applications to the fund allow for road and bridge infrastructure that supports our natural resource sector; two, a portion of the funding under the provincial component be earmarked for solely rural communities so that rural projects are not always competing with cities and towns for the same funding package; and three, future federal infrastructure programs continue to include a small communities component, but population thresholds for these be reduced to better represent the realities of rural communities.
SARM was also pleased that beginning in 2014-15, the plan included $1.25 billion over five years for a renewed P3 Canada fund to continue supporting innovative ways to build infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships, or P3s. Unfortunately, the current criteria for eligibility under existing federal funding programs for P3 projects, such as the P3 Canada fund, severely limit the ability of Saskatchewan rural municipalities and industry to access the fund.
To better facilitate the utilization of P3s across Canada, SARM recommends that the P3 Canada program give more consideration in the eligibility criteria for less densely populated areas in rural Canada, thereby making it easier to access government funding for such essential rural infrastructure projects.
The final recommendation made in our submission is meant to ensure that the much-needed and appreciated funding allocated by the government for disaster mitigation is utilized most efficiently. SARM commends the federal government for allocating $200 million over five years to establish a national disaster mitigation program, or NDMP, to build safer and more resilient communities. Funding for both certain structural and non-certain structural mitigation projects will reduce the likelihood of initial and repeat losses from disaster events.
To ensure that mitigation projects are strategically and effectively undertaken, SARM recommends that: one, both structural and non-structural mitigation projects be funded under the NDMP; two, non-structural projects eligible for funding under the NDMP include the development of flood mitigation strategies, which would likely include baseline data-gathering—such as hydro-mapping—engineering and planning support, and feasibility studies; and three, structural projects, including dikes, costs associated with raising properties, and channels dug for flood protection be eligible for NDMP funding.
To close, I would like to thank you once again for the opportunity to appear before the committee.