News Release
Federal Budget, Gas Tax, New Deal Focus of Big City Mayors’ Caucus
(Thursday, February 17/05)-- Mayor Peter Kelly is in Ottawa to participate in the Big City Mayor’s Caucus meetings today and tomorrow.
Mayor Kelly chairs one of six advocacy working groups of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) dealing with various social and economic issues facing the country. The groups are delving into areas of policy that Canada’s major cities believe warrant a new partnership for municipalities with federal and the provincial governments.
The FCM is seeking formal recognition of cities and communities as an order of government in Canada.
As Chair of the FCM’s Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Working Group, Mayor Kelly and other advocacy working group Chairs will meet this evening with Infrastructure and Communities Minister John Godfrey to discuss a number of related issues. Mayor Kelly will also briefly meet with Deputy Prime Minister Ann McLellan today to discuss issues related to emergency preparedness.
The proposed federal Budget, the promised share of the federal Gas Tax to Canadian municipalities and further details of the Martin government’s New Deal for cities and communities will highlight the agenda of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus there tomorrow.
The conference is part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) pre-budget campaign to make the federal government more aware of the financial needs of Canadian municipalities.
“The FCM has made the federal government completely aware of the financial plight of Canada’s major cities and smaller municipalities, and now we are very interested in seeing the many proposals to help us that the Prime Minister and others have put forward become a reality. Four out of five Canadians live in an urban centre in Canada and we do not have the financial capacity to keep up with the resulting demands,” Mayor Kelly said. “Hopefully, next Wednesday’s Budget will address these issues.”
–30--
Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 222-9999
