WHEREAS the Union of BC Municipalities, representing local governments in British Columbia, has entered into an agreement with Canada and British Columbia to transfer a portion of federal gas tax funds to local governments by establishing the Community Works Fund for the purpose of providing funding to local governments to improve the quality of the environment and contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, cleaner water or cleaner air; AND WHEREAS the funding agreement continues at the pleasure of the government of Canada: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities petition the federal government to enact a permanent continuation to the Community Works Fund program with funds provided being indexed to account for the effects of inflation.
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.