Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) President Vicki-May Hamm issued this statement after three days of meetings that brought together municipal leaders and Parliamentarians in Ottawa.
"Municipalities are key federal partners and our local solutions have national impact—whether we're growing the economy, making life more affordable or keeping people safe. As FCM President, I was proud to lead a delegation of more than 70 municipal leaders to Parliament this week, to discuss the best ways to unlock our municipal potential to build tomorrow's Canada.
"Meeting with 150 Parliamentarians from all parties was a chance to show how Federal Budget 2019 can make life better for the people we all serve. That starts with building on what's working in our partnership—with longer-term federal commitments to achieve universal high-speed Internet access, a commitment to world-class public transit, and supporting local adaptations to new weather extremes.
"But to meet the growing expectations of local government and build the future Canadians deserve, this is also the time to modernize our partnership. This week, we issued a call for a new forum bringing all orders of government together to tackle national challenges—from economic growth to the opioid crisis. And we're ready to kick-start conversations about new fiscal tools that empower local governments to deliver more for Canadians—more efficiently and effectively.
"Canadians expect all orders of governments to work together to make their lives better—modernizing our partnership will do just that. And Canada's mayors and municipal leaders are ready to move the conversation forward.
"I especially want to thank our keynote speakers who took time to engage our full delegation. We heard from Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Parliamentary Secretary to the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister David Lametti, Conservative Deputy Leader Lisa Raitt, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. While they all brought their distinct visions to our members, each recognized municipalities as central partners in building a more livable, competitive, sustainable Canada."
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is the national voice of municipal government, with 2,000 members representing 90 per cent of the Canadian population.
For more information, please contact:
FCM Media Relations, (613) 907-6395, media@fcm.ca