FEDERAL NDP PROPOSE DOUBLING GAS-TAX FUNDING TO CITIES

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he thinks the federal gas-tax fund that provides cities with cash should be doubled to stimulate local economic recoveries. Singh made the proposal during a meeting Friday with the mayors of Canada’s biggest cities. The gas-tax fund is one of the few mechanisms the federal government has to send money directly to cities instead of having to move it through provinces, but the money can only be used on capital projects, not to supplement operating budgets. This year, total funding was worth $2.2 billion. Singh says the funding should be doubled for the next four years. In a release, the NDP leader says the pandemic has been hard on cities and the government should give municipalities tools to get back on their feet.