Mr. Speaker, at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Edmonton this weekend, cities and towns across Canada were treated to a new version of the old classic Oliver Twist. On transit, urban leaders are pleading with the government, “please, please, just a little more”. Instead what they got from the stage was a spin on the old classic, what they got was Oliver twisted.
The Minister of Finance barked to municipal leaders. He said, “Get real. Get real, cities. You can expect less from this government”. Cities and towns are clear, they need infrastructure dollars and they need them now and they want them now. Instead, the government has orphaned Canadian municipalities. When does the transit money come and why does it not come now? When are they going to give us more?