Mr. Speaker, municipalities are the level of government closest to home. City officials hear from local people every day and know whether their city needs essentials like upgrades to water systems or sewage treatment facilities.
However, the latest Statistics Canada report revealed Ottawa had an $11.3 billion surplus while municipalities slipped back into deficits. It is time for this government to respect Canada's constitution in its tax policies, not just in words.
Ottawa must quickly reduce its share of the tax pie so the endangered taxpayers can afford to let their city proceed with essential infrastructure rather than filtering their tax dollars through Ottawa first, just so Liberals can look generous when they give a small fraction back.
The Canadian Alliance supports infrastructure spending. However, we also recognize that federal tax cuts are needed so that these local decisions can once again be left to the discretion of local taxpayers and their city council rather than being used as make work programs or political pork barrelling.