City governments call for a “re-invention of the federal-municipal relationship”

Canada's Mayors and city councillors want more money from Ottawa.

That's nothing new.

But at the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference — currently taking place in Vancouver — they're also asking for a new relationship with the federal government.

In a report titled the State of Canada's Cities and Communities, released Friday, the FCM says that the status-quo isn't working.

"The current division of powers encourages short-term, informal and ad-hoc federal policies in the municipal sector, often designed without meaningful consultation with either municipal or provincial/territorial governments," notes a press release.

"We must look to a better decision than to re-invent the wheel with the Government of Canada every time a new issue arises."

The FCM's solution is a formal ongoing collaborative framework — a table, if you will — whereby all levels of government collectively identify issues, goals, strategies and policies with regard to their collective interests.

If the Feds don't oblige, the FCM suggests that it will be more of the same: The same being chronic under-funding for public safety, housing and infrastructure.

They claim that municipalities bare 60 per cent of total policing costs, "including $600 million worth of downloaded federal policing duties in areas such as border security, international drug trafficking, and cyber-crime."

On housing, they claim there are approximately 300,000 Canadians who live on the streets or in shelters.

And, while the Harper government allocated $53 billion in infrastructure funding over the next the next 10 years and an additional $9 billion in gas tax transfer money over the next 20 years, the FCM says it's not enough of a commitment.

Short-term programs do not align with municipal planning frameworks that typically extend 10 and 20 years into the future. as a result, it is very difficult for local governments to integrate such funding programs into their long-term asset-management plans," notes the State of the Cities report.

"This often results in second and third tier priorities being funded instead of high priority strategic projects."

[ Related: Canada's big-city mayors want action on affordable housing crisis ]

For their part, the federal government says they have been consulting with municipal governments.

"Even though the constitution doesn't mandate that the federal goverment has to have a formal realationship with municipal governments we...have to work together across different levels of government," James Moore, B.C.'s senior federal cabinet minister, told reporters.

"Which is why before we announced what we announced with our budget, the $53 billion over 10 years of infrastructure spending, we did have consultations with the FCM. We listened to the FCM, it was actually their policy that we implemented."

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair will speak to the convention goers on Saturday to talk about his promise to spend $420 million a year of federal money for traffic infrastructure.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Green Party leader Elizabeth May will speak to the crowd of mayors, councillors and city staffers on Sunday.

[ Related: Conservatives slam Justin Trudeau for divisive comments about the Senate ]

The FCM is comprised 1,635 municipalities, representing almost eighty-eight per cent of the Canadian population.

The conference continues through Monday.

(Photo courtesy of Canadian Press)

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