Letter
to the editor:
Parties
need plan as 40% of municipal funding expires.
With
the clock running out on federal investments in our cities and
communities, you’d think at least one of the federal parties would make
this an issue in the election campaign.
But
two weeks into the campaign, no party has shown Canadians a plan to
replace the 40 per cent of federal investments in cities and communities
that will expire over the next 36 months. That’s not stimulus money,
that’s core funding—investments in roads, housing, and police.
Think
about how losing this money will affect your neighborhood: the unfilled
potholes, the cracked sidewalks, the closed pools and recreation centres,
the disappearing bus routes. Think about your property taxes or rent going
up. Then ask your federal candidates what they plan to do about it.
Ask
them how they plan to replace transit funding, affordable housing
programs, the Police Officer Recruitment Fund, and the Building Canada
Fund. Together, these investments are worth $1.9 billion a year across
Canada. Toronto’s share of that is about $150 million. That’s quite a
haircut.
It’s
time all parties come down to earth and tell Canadians what they plan to
do for cities and communities.
Hans
Cunningham,
President
of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
