Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be here today to share the views of some 2,000 Canadian municipalities on the next federal budget.
I understand that we have about five minutes, so I'll cover the highlights of our recommendations and leave a copy of my remarks with you. My comments today will be on issues facing all municipalities in Canada. I will highlight the particular needs of our rural communities.
Let me start by acknowledging that Budget 2013 was good for Canada's cities and communities. The federal commitments to local infrastructure were the largest and longest ever made by the Government of Canada. This decade-long plan will deliver some $50 billion in new funding to help repair, maintain, and replace municipal infrastructure.
The highlight was indexing the permanent gas tax fund against inflation, which will add another $9 billion over 20 years.
There was also good news on housing: the five-year renewal of two key federal housing programs and the commitment to follow Housing First principles in the homelessness partnering strategy, with a role for FCM.
All this happened because the key partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, worked together. Now we need to see what remains to be done and keep that work going.
In any Canadian community you'll see problems related to infrastructure, housing, public safety, and the environment. In rural and northern Canada you'll see communities fighting for their economic survival. Today we are focusing on two essential issues that need action now.
First, the Building Canada fund must meet the needs of cities and communities. We need to know that a fair and predictable share of the fund will be invested in local streets, bridges, water systems, and public transit. Our rural communities also need to know that they'll be able to access the fund in an equitable way through a dedicated small communities component. Municipalities, through FCM, must be involved in determining how that fund is invested, and any plan must include clear national objectives, with reporting mechanisms to ensure that every dollar delivers value for taxpayers.
Second, in housing we are pleased that the federal government accepts that it has a role in housing and we welcome the renewal of the two new expiring housing programs.
Last spring, Mr. Chairman, we applauded the government's budget commitment to support Housing First and other proven models of fighting homelessness. But without action now, recent progress will be lost. The combination of high real estate prices, a lack of rental construction, and expiring federal funding are threatening to push many Canadians deeper into debt or out of the housing market entirely.
Despite the recent renewal of some programs, we are still looking at the expiry of federal funding for social programming worth $1.7 billion a year. The biggest drop, $500 million a year, is coming between 2014 and 2019.
There are other housing issues that affect Canadians, chiefly finding an affordable home to buy or rent. Many Canadians carry record levels of mortgage debt, and a growing number are priced out of the housing market. For rural communities, it means meeting the housing needs of seniors who want to age in place, having the housing we need to attract and retain workers, and keeping housing costs manageable when our economy is booming. As more Canadians look for alternatives, the rental market cannot keep up.
Finally, rising housing prices threaten the broader economy, potentially forming bubbles that are vulnerable to collapse. We have two recommendations on housing, Mr. Chairman, for you and the committee: that the Government of Canada first follow up on the commitments in Budget 2013 with a clear plan to work with FCM to implement Housing First programs and other proven models for getting homeless people into permanent shelter; second, that it develop a long-term plan to close the gaps in the housing system, reduce the economy's vulnerability to housing market distortions, and protect Canada's 600,000 social housing units as current federal investments expire.
The only way to solve these and other problems facing our communities rural and urban and our country is to work together, as we have in the past. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities and its members look forward to working with the Government of Canada to help build Canada's future.
Mr. Chairman, thank you.