Today's Fall Economic Statement confirms that this government is holding firm to its 11-year commitment to support transformational infrastructure projects in cities and communities across Canada.
Minister Morneau announced stronger-than-projected economic growth today. Clearly, moving more municipal infrastructure projects forward remains a centerpiece of his government's long-term growth strategy. And as this government continues negotiating its long-term infrastructure plan with provinces and territories, FCM remains focused on seeing them get the design details right.
Getting this right means ensuring municipalities have the tools they need to implement this plan in cities and communities of all sizes. That starts with securing fair provincial cost-sharing to move infrastructure projects forward-along with meaningful access to the Green Infrastructure Fund to scale up local solutions to environmental challenges.
The Fall Economic Statement also commits to enhance the Canada Child Benefit and the Working Income Tax Benefit. Both initiatives can effectively complement FCM's recommendations for federal leadership to help reduce poverty in our communities. Chief among those is a National Housing Strategy that takes FCM's frontline advice on how to tackle Canada's housing affordability crisis.
Jenny Gerbasi is the President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Deputy Mayor for the City of Winnipeg. FCM is the national voice of local government, with 2,000 members representing 91 per cent of Canada's population.