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 21^st 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 21^st century.

With your help, every step of the way, I know we will succeed.

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