Municipalities are finally getting their due

Progress is being made toward a new relationship with the province, Suzanne Roy says.

It has already been two years since the last municipal elections, which means it’s time to review our performance. What sort of progress has the municipal sector made? What future successes are in the works? Have municipalities moved forward or backward? Let’s see how our report card looks. Looking back to 2013, there was plenty to do. The vision and proposals in the UQM Municipal White Paper were gaining widespread support and raising hopes to a new high. The municipal sector embarked on the task ahead in a spirit of unity and solidarity.

The white paper and the position assumed by the municipal sector persuaded newly elected Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard that the time had come to recognize municipalities as local governments and to deal with them as equals. His declaration to that effect during his inaugural address in May 2014 marked a decisive turning point for municipal democracy — at least in words.

That speech has translated into action and commitments. Action, with the passage of Bill 3 on municipal employee pension plans, which has saved municipalities over $2 billion. And commitments, with the new Quebec-Municipal Partnership Agreement signed on Sept. 29.

Many of the recommendations in the white paper have resulted in concrete measures linked to a specific time frame.

For example, in spring 2016, the government has promised, under the agreement to review the entire framework for labour in the municipal sector — a historic demand by the UQM.

Another major advance is the promised recognition of municipalities as authentic local governments in legislation to be introduced in fall 2016. This was one of the priorities in the white paper, which proposed a municipal charter amending the distribution of responsibilities shared by the province and its municipalities, and establishing municipal autonomy.

In addition, the repeated UQM demands for simpler, more streamlined account reporting procedures for municipalities were echoed in the Perrault report published on Oct. 23. Under the new Quebec-Municipal Agreement, the government will adopt a policy that’s intended to simplify reporting and ensure consistency in the government’s requirements for municipalities. This is another giant step in the right direction for the municipal sector, which has been trapped in a costly and inefficient bureaucratic muddle for far too long. It’s estimated that 2.5 million working hours are spent at present on reporting by municipal staff.

Last but not least, municipalities will be consulted from now on regarding government initiatives that could result in increased responsibilities or additional costs for municipalities.

In terms of taxation and finances, the $20 million increase in the Territorial Development Fund, the doubling of the natural resource royalties to be shared with municipalities, and clarification of the law regarding contributions by developers, as well as the measures for cleanup of polluted land urban areas, should promise attractive improvements for the municipal sector in urban and rural areas alike — advances in accordance with the sustainable taxation envisioned by the municipal white paper.

Obviously, it isn’t easy to change an entire culture and long-standing habits.

But by Nov. 5, 2017, I’m confident that the fundamentals of our relationship with the Quebec government will have been altered. Our municipal democracy will attract more young people and more women into investing their energy in the municipal political scene because, finally, our powers and capacity to act will be consistent with our responsibilities and with what we really are: authentic local governments, democratically elected and fully accountable.

It isn’t easy to change an entire culture and long-standing habits.