Cities seek $6B for infrastructure gap

Municipal leaders meet here looking for provincial help

Municipal leaders from across Ontario will be looking for the answer to a $6-billion question when they gather in Ottawa this week for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario annual conference.

AMO president and Hamilton city councillor Russ Powers said there’s a $6-billion gap between how much municipalities can afford to spend on infrastructure and how much is needed to fix what’s ailing. The AMO wants to know what the province will offer in terms of constructing new sewers, building roads and bridges and fixing what can be salvaged, so that city governments can focus on paying for maintenance.

“That will be high on the agenda,” he said.

AMO, which represents the interests of the 444 municipalities in Ontario, has three main goals the session: infrastructure, social services and employment costs.

Powers expects the province to take note: “When you’ve got an organization or association that has consensus on a particular issue, the provinces recognize that voice,” he said.

The four-day conference, starting Monday, includes 60 sessions for delegates, including knowledge-sharing, planning and information sessions to keep everyone on the same page.

Sessions on green energy and sustainability will pull together best practices from successful programs and allow cities that are having issues to ask questions, Powers said.

“Creating sustainable communities is the focus of every municipality, no matter how small or large,” he said.

On a political note, Powers said the AMO will be looking for commitment and clarification from Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is expected to speak Monday afternoon, along with Progressive Conservative Party Leader Tim Hudak and New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath.

The Lankin-Sheikh report released last year provided the province with 100 suggestions for changes to social assistance. Powers said the AMO is supportive of the report’s findings but would like to know how the province plans to pay for them.

“Some have suggested it will be the municipalities’ responsibility,” he said. “We want some clarification.”

Another major priority will be the soaring costs of municipal police and firefighters due to what Powers called the closed-door arbitration sessions with full-time employees.

“We’re asking for transparency and accountability in the interest arbitration,” he said. “The settlements tend to be cookie-cutter settlements ... they have not taken into consideration the economic health of the community in question or settlements that have already been made with other bargaining units within the community,” he said.

Powers pointed to Fort Frances, Ont., which, faced with rising costs for full-time firefighters, chose to lay some off rather than raise municipal taxes by four per cent.

“We don’t want to be doing things like that,” he said. “The force has been established for a reason. It just gets to the point where the cost for a number of municipalities — particularly small, rural or northern communities — is unaffordable.”

Since taking the helm in August 2012, Powers said he has met with 14 provincial ministers to air the municipalities’ concerns. But on Tuesday afternoon city dele- gates will have a chance to ask questions directly of more than 20 ministers gathered in “what we lovingly refer to as The Bear Pit,” said Powers.

The open session with ministers will last two hours, and Powers expects to get to about 30 or 40 questions.

“There’ll be no censoring at all, and the ministers will get the questions straight out. Hopefully they will be prepared … and, failing that, they’ll be able to do their homework and get back to the AMO later with the answer.”

Powers said the AMO has received 500 requests for a private audience with specific ministers. The AMO expects about 300 of those to be granted, with ministers setting aside 30 to 45 minutes for individual delegates.