WHEREAS both the provincial and federal governments have granted extraordinary grants to some local governments in order to stimulate employment and build much needed infrastructure; AND WHEREAS these grants come with short timelines for the immediate implementation that bring capital and planning challenges to the local governments that result in waste of taxpayer dollars: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities petition the provincial and federal governments to implement flexibility into the deadlines and deal with each applicant on a case by case basis in order to maximize the effectiveness of the grants and create quality infrastructure for all Canadians.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development The Province is aware of the challenges faced by local governments with respect to the timelines attributed to projects funded under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund ISF and the Building Canada Fund Communities Component Top-Up BCF-CC Top-Up. On December 3, 2010, as a result of the challenges faced by local governments, the federal government announced the extension of the construction deadline for a number of Economic Action Plan infrastructure projects. This extension is intended to allow those time challenged projects to be completed. Proponents of projects under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the Building Canada Fund Communities Component Top-Up, the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program and the Knowledge Infrastructure Program will now have until October 31, 2011, to complete their projects. The Province continues to work with local governments in the efficient and effective implementation of these projects, recognizing the importance of having these projects completed and ensuring the necessary infrastructure is built to support critical local government services to their respective communities.
Ministry of Finance As the global economy continues its fragile recovery from the worst recession since the Second World War, our Government is focused squarely on the economy and jobs. Canada was better prepared for and has better responded to the recent economic turmoil, compared to our peers. Prior to the onset of the global recession, we introduced significant personal and business tax relief, paid down nearly 40 billion in debt, made key investments to improve the countrys infrastructure, and much more. We built on our strong economic record with the introduction of a timely and effective response to the global recession, Canadas Economic Action Plan. The Plan was a 62-billion shot in the arm when our country needed it the most. Taxes were lowered; retraining was expanded for the unemployed; more than 23,000 job-creating infrastructure projects were launched; major investments were made in science and technology; vital support was extended to struggling sectors of the economy; extraordinary steps were taken to improve access to financing; and much more. Canadas Economic Action Plan worked, as Canada has weathered the global economic storm better than most in the industrialized world. The Canadian economy has seen five consecutive quarters of growth, more than 400,000 new jobs have been created in the last year and a half, and our financial system has been ranked the soundest in the world for the third straight year. Additionally, both the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development continue to project that Canada will have the strongest average growth of the G-7 in the years ahead. Going forward,d the Government will stay on this course and fully implement the initial phase of the Plan. While Canada is in a relatively strong position compared to our peers, theres more to do. As the economy continues to stabilize, we enter into the phase of Canadas Economic Action Plan. We are committed to helping secure our economic recovery by ensuring our economic polices reflect the values and principles of hardworking Canadians, such as living within our means, reducing waste and duplication, and keeping taxes low to help create job and sustain growth. We invested a lot of money to stimulate the economy and help create jobs during the worst of the recession when we needed it most. But running deficits cannot become a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We must balance the budget to secure our recovery, and our Government is determined to see that happen. That means staying steadfast in our plan to return to balanced budgets in the medium term by ending extraordinary stimulus spending as the economy recovers; limiting new government spending; restraining spending through targeted measures; and continuing comprehensive reviews of spending to eliminate waste and inefficiencies. As we prepare the upcoming federal budget, we have been clear that the Government will not make significant new spending commitments that would trigger bigger deficits and higher taxes. We cannot afford to risk the economic recovery and the future of our children and grandchildren by running deficits over the longer term.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities Please note that this resolution is a Category D resolution which means it is in accordance with existing FCM policy and as such is received for information only. As a result of FCMs ongoing dialogue with the Federal Government, the stimulus deadline has been extended and flexibility has been promised on a case by case basis. Please visit the FCM website and you will find the Policy Statement on Municipal Infrastructure Transportation Policy - FCMs position encourages flexibility and the extension and ongoing funding for infrastructure. The FCM News of January 17 also contains an update on infrastructure. http:www.fcm.caCMFilesMITPolicyStatement20101KDG-762010-552.pdf FCM News - Week of January 17, 2011 Future of Canadas Infrastructure Chair of the National Infrastructure Summit and Mayor of Regina, Pat Fiacco, hosted a press conference in Ottawa last week, to discuss Canadas first National Infrastructure Summit January 26-28, 2011, Regina, Saskatchewan. Mayor Fiacco also spoke about the outlook for Canadas infrastructure in the lead-up to the 2011 federal budget. He underscored the need for a long-term infrastructure plan and highlighted the Summit as an important first step in the planning process. Federal Budget 2011 - Municipal Call to Action The federal government is holding pre-budget consultations across the country. This is a great opportunity to protect federal investments in our communities and ensure Ottawa is ready to build on them in the future. In Budget 2011, FCM is calling on the federal government to protect municipalities from budget cuts and downloading, and to start planning future federal infrastructure investments. FCM believes a plan is needed to meet Canadas growing infrastructure challenges over the long term. Federal funding will be very tight as the government balances its budget deficit during the next few years. The federal government must work with municipalities during these lean years, so it is ready to continue investing when todays Building Canada infrastructure plan expires in 2014.