Finance committee  Yes, we do. Twenty years would be the.... We have a specific policy, and I'll ask Jim to make it crystal clear.

Finance committee  That's a good question, and it's a very fair question. In the context of representing 1,400 municipalities across Canada, what has happened is that there are varying degrees of need for infrastructure in different spots, and some places have greater needs than others. What was s

Finance committee  I don't know that I have a specific dollar value, if that's what you're looking for today. I would defer to my CEO if we have any....

Finance committee  With respect to the sustainability file, I might just add that we are obviously pushing five specific areas: public transit, which I spoke about already; suggestions of a municipal adaptation fund to help cities and communities that are already experiencing the effects of climate

Finance committee  We have seen some increases in ridership, but it's hard to say exactly why. In the context of fuel prices going up, that might have a lot to do with it. It's a strict measurement. Our anecdotal sense is probably that the tax credit would pull up some marginal increase in ridersh

Finance committee  They would both have positive effects. In our estimation, more infrastructure for things like rapid transit in the big centres would make the biggest difference for ridership.

Finance committee  Exactly. Part of what we're asking today and what we're suggesting should be in the budget is that the federal government commit to a longer-term window for probably exactly the reasons you're insinuating. Municipalities need bankable sources to commit to long-term plans, right?

Finance committee  We're hoping we can.

Finance committee  From the perspective of municipalities, I would have to say that our preference would be to build the actual infrastructure that we require, the funding. We take no issue with the idea that a federal government might want to introduce initiatives for people to buy transit passes,

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Finance committee  Thank you very much. I'm joined by our chief executive officer, Jim Knight. As you are aware, FCM, through its members, represents about 90% of the Canadian population. I know I don't need to remind the members of this committee that cities and communities are central to Cana