WHEREAS local governments continue to have access to a single consistent source of revenue, that being a property tax, and it is impossible for local governments to achieve long-term sustainability while covering the costs of replacing aging infrastructure from that singe tax base; AND WHEREAS the revenues provided to local governments through the gas tax agreement between the federal and provincial governments and the Union of BC Municipalities have proven inadequate to address the still-growing infrastructure deficit in local jurisdictions: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM lobby the provincial government to work with the federal government to revise the agreement to expand the eligibility criteria and allocate to local governments a greater portion of federal gas tax revenues in a manner that allows for sustainable financial planning.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development The Province agrees that it is essential that the Federal Government continue to share the gas tax revenues it receives with BC local governments to help communities address the pressures associated with aging infrastructure and ensure communities are sustainable over the long term. The Province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities UBCM continue to work closely with the Federal Government to ensure the Gas Tax Fund becomes permanent and continues to provide long-term, predictable funding to BC communities. Since 2005 the Gas Tax Fund has provided 635 million in infrastructure funding to BC communities and the Program has now been extended from 2010-2014, providing an additional 1 billion to BC communities. The Federal Government has also committed to making the Gas Tax Fund permanent beyond 2014, which will support sound financial planning for infrastructure upgrades and replacements. The Province and UBCM will continue to seek opportunities to maximize funding opportunities under the Gas Tax Fund to support BC local governments to achieve their infrastructure priorities.
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.