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NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OF THE
"MILLENNIUM CONFERENCE" OF THE
FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES
June 5, 2000
London, Ontario
It is always a pleasure for me to meet with Canada’s municipal leaders.
As elected officials, we have three crucial things in common. First, we work
for the same people. Your constituents are also my constituents. Second, our
most fundamental duty is that of enhancing the quality of life of the people we
are privileged to serve. Third, we understand that no one government has the
wisdom, the creativity or the resources to go it alone. We are in this together.
We are partners.
It is in our neighbourhoods that the abstract idea of "quality of
life" takes on a real meaning. It is you who ensure that we have good
transportation and information networks. That our homes are safe, and our
libraries well stocked. You work side-by-side with your constituents. Making
your communities more prosperous, more secure and more attractive places to
live, work and raise families.
But, while your responsibility is local we share a common, national cause.
That of building a dynamic, prosperous Canada. That will be the place to be in
the 21st century.
You are on the front lines of making that happen. By embracing, and putting
to use new technologies such as fibre optic cable, satellites and wireless to
connect your citizens to each other and to the world. To connect schools,
libraries and museums. And by sustaining and improving the pillars of Canadian
prosperity and quality of life. The essential infrastructure of community
centres, water treatment facilities, roads and bridges that serve and connect
all Canadians, from sea to sea to sea.
Our government and the FCM have established a solid track record as good
partners in our common cause.
Through the Canada Infrastructure Works Program, $8.3 billion has been
invested across Canada. Creating tens-of- thousands of jobs in hundreds of
communities.
Through Connecting Canadians, we have worked with you to make Canada
the most connected nation on earth. Working together, on SchoolNet and the
Community Access Program, we have brought public Internet access within reach of
all Canadians.
I was amazed, when I was in Berlin this weekend to see how countries from all
over the world are interested in "the Canadian model". How they look
to it as they try to offer their children and their citizens access to the
technologies and skills they need in the global economy. We have something to
offer a world increasingly worried about a digital divide.
We have taken enormous strides my friends. But today, I am here to talk to
you about the future. About the next bold steps we will take together to build
on our shared achievements.
As good partners, we talk often. And we listen. We heard your message about
the need for new investment in environmental, information and social
infrastructure in order to build a higher quality of life for Canadians. And we
have responded.
In February, we committed $125 million to establish through, FCM, the Green
Municipal Investment and Enabling Funds to enhance your efforts on climate
protection, air, water and soil quality. The goal, as your President Sam Synard
has said, is to ensure that "we can look back and say, yes, we have reduced
greenhouse gas emissions, we have cleaner drinking water and better sewage
treatment and, yes, Canadians have a better standard of living."
As Claudette Bradshaw outlined on Friday, we are working with you to address
the problem of homelessness. We have invested $753 million in a national
strategy to reduce and prevent homelessness. A strategy that recognizes that all
governments have a role to play in effectively responding to the terrible plight
of our most vulnerable population.
With the Smart Communities initiative, we are working on innovative projects
that use the power of the Internet to bring government and community services
closer to Canadians.
Last Fall, in the Speech from the Throne, we announced our intention to
proceed with access.ca.
The idea behind it is to help Canadians get what they want from the Internet,
while keeping the economic benefits in Canada. Among other things, it will
provide an easy way for Canadians to find government information and services,
quickly and conveniently. It will also help individuals and communities to
better connect with each other at the local level.
But access.ca is much, much more. It will soon be up and running as a
Smart Communities pilot project. I encourage you to visit the Industry Canada
display here to see an impressive demonstration of access.ca in action.
Ladies and gentlemen, every year the United Nations tells us that Canada is
the best country in the world in which to live. There are many reasons for this.
But one of the most important is that we have always placed a high priority on
building a quality of life for our citizens that is second to none.
You have told us that a state-of-the-art infrastructure program must go
beyond sewers and bridges. To sustain and enhance our quality of life and to
attract business for future growth and prosperity you need new tools to meet the
economic, social and environmental needs of our communities.
Again, we have responded.
And the new infrastructure program is a key part of our commitment. Over the
next six years, the Government of Canada will invest $2.65 billion on
infrastructure. Including up to $600 million for highways.
In response to your input, our first priority for the new program will be
Green Municipal Infrastructure. We must preserve and protect the quality of our
water and our air. Nothing is more fundamental.
Funding for core infrastructure will also be a focus. So, too, will new
projects that you have told us are essential to the quality of life in your
communities: culture, tourism, affordable housing, rural and remote
telecommunications, and public transit.
The clear vision and solid partnership that made the Canada Infrastructure
Works Program such an enormous success will continue to be our guide. We will
build on its strengths.
In designing the new program, we have consulted and we have listened. We have
talked with you and with every province and territory. We have the support of a
wide variety of other stakeholders: the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian
Council on Public-Private Partnerships, the Canadian Construction Association,
and others.
You told us that you want to move quickly. And we are. We want to sign
agreements and get started as soon as possible. You told us you wanted a
bottom-up approach. And that is how the program will work. It will be flexible
enough to meet the diverse needs of communities right across Canada.
You told us that you wanted to be at the heart of the process. And you will
be. Projects will be funded in hundreds of communities. Most of these projects
will be suggested by you, to ensure that the most pressing local needs will be
addressed.
We must also ensure that the needs of rural Canada are addressed. We will
seek commitments for a fair balance of investment between rural and urban
municipalities in the agreements with the provinces and territories.
On average, the Government of Canada will contribute up to one-third of the
cost of municipal infrastructure projects. As before, this money will be
leveraged by investments from our partners in provincial and territorial
governments, and from you.
We also want to develop new and effective public-private partnerships. We
recognize that the private-sector can bring capital, initiative and expertise to
the table that can only enhance our common effort.
Canadians are always concerned about how public money - their money -
is managed. And $2.65 billion is a lot of their money. We must ensure that it is
used wisely and effectively.
That is why a framework for regular and detailed audits and evaluations of
the program will be included in the agreements to be signed with each of our
partners.
Ladies and gentlemen, our country has been built on the hard work, dreams and
investments of past generations. We must continue to build for the future. To
work on homelessness, on green infrastructure, on roads and transit, and on
upgrading telecom and Internet connections.
A strong "quality of life" infrastructure is the foundation of the
competitiveness, long term growth, and well-being of our community and of all
Canadians.
As we make the connections between our communities stronger, we will make
Canada a stronger, better place in which to live. A nation that will, indeed, be
the place to be in the 21st century.
With your help, every step of the way, I know we will succeed.
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