Finance committee  For decades, our cities and communities have lacked the resources to live up to their full potential as partners in building a better Canada. Municipal governments are impeded by an outdated tax system that leaves them with only 8¢ of every tax dollar collected in Canada. They ha

Finance committee  Thanks. It's an interesting question. Obviously we believe very strongly that investing in cities and towns and communities across this country is one of the best investments a country can make for creating a strong country. If you look at what we're talking about, we're really

Government Operations committee  Thank you. It's a privilege for us to be here today to share our thoughts on Canada's economic stimulus plan. FCM has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. We represent 90% of the Canadian population—more than 1,800 municipal governments. Members include

Government Operations committee  We're not being politic here. Our members have a reporting mechanism. They report to the provinces, the provinces report to the department, and the department has numbers. Those are the numbers that we work with. It would be inappropriate for us to go to our members and tell them

Government Operations committee  We have presented figures. I want to add that the economic recovery program is much larger, must larger than the corner occupied by municipalities. When it says 90%, that is for the whole thing. Our corner is less than that.

Government Operations committee  [Note from the editor: inaudible]

Transport committee  Thank you, Hans. The FCM has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. We represent 90 per cent of the Canadian population in more than 1,900 municipalities in every province and territory. Members include Canada's largest cities, small urban and rural communit

Transport committee  Now, thanks to recent investments and a new spirit of intergovernmental cooperation, Canada is starting to put the brakes on this downward slide. Thousands of cost-shared stimulus projects have brought governments together to create jobs and fight the recession. And the permanen

Transport committee  No, we haven't conducted a survey of all our members. We have been working through the provincial associations to understand the situation in each province, and we've been working with the department to keep track of the global data as we've progressed through the stimulus packag

Transport committee  Yes, sir. It is true that it is the first time we have been offered a program with a deadline that is so precise. However, it is also the first time we have had a program that is targeting a specific thing, that is to say the economic crisis in Canada. Because the program was lau

Transport committee  I'd say two things. One, this has been a discussion that's a policy of the board, so the board has understood the broad perspective of our membership. Secondly, the folks who run municipalities are imminently practical people, and they know that as you get into projects, sometime

Transport committee  If I could just add, for example, there are situations, let's say, in northern Alberta, where the weather and the transition from winter to summer meant the roads were not usable for a certain period of time. So construction equipment couldn't get into sites and projects are behi

Transport committee  I was going to finish by saying that you started off I think with a very interesting set of comments about the projects being timely, targeted, and temporary, and we all understand that. I don't think what we're talking about changes those three characteristics. All we're saying,

Transport committee  We don't have a concrete list, because, as I said to a question from Mr. Kennedy, we work through our provincial associations. We work with the data from the department.

Transport committee  Our members are not telling us that perception of fairness is an obstacle to seeking flexibility, where flexibility is required so that projects can be completed as a result of delays that are beyond the control of the municipalities. I should also say that municipalities are one