“The federal government must listen to city and municipal leaders.”
Yorkton
– Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, says that it is time for Ottawa
to start listening to the level of government that is closest to the people they
serve. The federal government is
passing more and more responsibilities on to municipalities, but they do not
have and are not given the resources to fulfill these responsibilities.
When looking at the resolutions passed by the Saskatchewan Urban
Municipalities Association (SUMA), Breitkreuz noted that even though it is the
province that grants money to municipalities, the federal government must take
most of the blame for the municipal financial crunch.
For years the federal government has been reducing transfers to the
provinces, which creates a chain reaction causing towns and cities to deal with
substantial financial shortfalls.
“The federal government has
cut back on transfers to provinces without any regard for municipal government,
yet these cities, towns, villages and RM’s are now faced with trying to come
up with new streams of revenue. I
find it hard to believe that proper consultations with municipalities on these
issues has not taken place,” commented Breitkreuz.
At the recent SUMA convention
held in Regina, delegates passed resolutions asking that a long-term
infrastructure program be put in place. With
the current structure many municipalities have several projects they would like
to complete, but do not have the funds to begin them.
SUMA also passed a resolution calling for the development of new revenue
streams for municipalities to make up the loss of provincial grant money.
Other issues raised at the convention include:
“I’ve met with several
mayors, reeves, and councillors who are frustrated with the federal
government’s attitude to local governments.
This issue was raised at our Agriculture Forum on January 15, and now the
SUMA convention resolutions make it clear that there is a serious problem in
this area,” said Breitkreuz.
“When are we going to realize
that all taxes – whether they be federal, provincial, or municipal – all
come from the same pocket? If our
pockets were getting any bigger there may be a valid reason, but our pockets are
continually shrinking,” said Breitkreuz.
Breitkreuz says that, “A big
part of the problem municipal governments experience is that the federal
government views them as the lowest form of government rather than a partner
that can implement programs like infrastructure development, health care
facilities, and proper policing. Once
that happens, then all three levels of government may be better served.”
“The federal government does
not realize that municipal government may be the best avenue for the delivery of
services. Have the government that
is the closest to the people deliver the services that it can bring more
efficiently and effectively. Local
governments are much better able to adapt programs to meet local needs.
Not only would you be saving money, but also the faceless, unaccountable
bureaucracy would be eliminated. Municipalities
should not be a servant to the other levels of government, they should be a
partner,” says Breitkreuz.
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