STATEMENT BY FCM PRESIDENT ON TODAY´S
ECONOMIC AND FISCAL STATEMENT

OTTAWA, November 27, 2008 — Statement by Jean Perrault, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Mayor of Sherbrooke, on today´s Economic and Fiscal Statement:

“As the global economic crisis has deepened, a new global consensus has emerged —  governments must act swiftly to make major infrastructure investments to create new jobs and boost their slowing economies.

Today the Government of Canada pledged to have a plan in place by January 2009 to accelerate infrastructure spending. The government has the opportunity to create close to 100,000 new jobs next year — without courting a deficit — simply by accelerating billions of unspent infrastructure dollars.

However, to seize this opportunity the federal government must commit to fixing slow-moving infrastructure programs, so that new investments can come online this spring in time to offset an economic slowdown.  Business as usual will not create jobs or mitigate a recession.

Infrastructure spending is the most powerful recession-fighting tool available to the federal government. One dollar invested upgrading roads, bridges, public transit or water systems creates more jobs and delivers a bigger economic boost than a two-dollar tax cut. 

The federal government has a $3-billion backlog in unspent infrastructure money on hand in the Building Canada Fund (BCF). However, timing is everything when it comes to fighting a recession. The BCF — with its need for extensive, upfront paperwork, lengthy review processes, and long waiting periods — is too slow to get many new projects started in time for next year´s construction season.

Hundreds of local projects are ready to go across the country, just waiting for the money to start construction. And there´s an ever-growing list of simple-to-plan, nuts and bolts repair jobs needed to upgrade our sewers, water pipes, roads and bridges.

What we need now is to fix the BCF and flow new money without onerous, up-front application procedures. To ensure accountability we can use the efficient but effective reporting requirements of the federal Gas Tax Fund.

During the past two months we have seen an extraordinary downturn in the global economy and a commitment from the federal government to respond rapidly and consider “unprecedented” stimulus. 

During the next two months, all orders of government will need to step up to turn these words into meaningful action. With the political will, we can follow through and implement an infrastructure spending plan that protects Canadians from a recession.“

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