News Release
Big City Mayors Seeking New federal Revenues
(Thursday, February 8/07) — Members of the Big City Mayor’s Caucus (BCMC) will hear a preliminary report tomorrow from a special working group tasked with identifying potential sources of federal revenues that could be directed towards Canada’s largest urban centres, Mayor Peter Kelly said today.
Mayor Kelly said the meeting of the BCMC in Ottawa tomorrow is timely in light of a Conference Board of Canada report released this week which showed Halifax receives the lowest level of financial support from the federal or its provincial government, compared to other major cities in the country.
When it comes to transfers from the federal and provincial governments, HRM share works out to $27 per capita, compared with $645 for Toronto; $426 for Ottawa and $245 for Montreal.
Mayor Kelly said the federal government must become more actively involved--- not diminish its current role-- to more effectively address the financial plight of Canada’s major urban centres.
“Four out of five Canadians live in an urban centre..yet the municipal infrastructure gap continues to grow each year. There is a $60 billion infrastructure deficit now and that is growing by $2 billion annually. Our infrastructure is aging and crumbling, the demand for new services due to growth is galloping...and if nothing is done soon, something is going to give and we, as a nation, are not going to like it,” he said.
The Big City Mayors will be briefed on the final report on a study entitled “Mission Possible-- Successful Canadian Cities”, which was conducted by the Conference Board of Canada.
Mayor Kelly said tomorrow’s session will begin with a breakfast meeting with new Liberal Leader Stefan Dion. Later, members will hear discussions on the National Transit Strategy; the BCMC submission regarding the 2007/2008 Federal Budget; and a proposed 10-year plan to end homelessness in Canada.
The Mayor, Chair of the BCMC Public Safety and Security Working Group, will also update his colleagues on efforts to have Canadian municipalities represented in federal-provincial talks regarding anti-terrorism and public emergency response.
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Mayor Peter Kelly
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