(The
following article is from
the December 1-31,
2007
issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles
can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in
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PV
Vancouver Bureau
The physical foundations of Canada's
cities and communities are "near collapse," warns the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities.
Released on
Nov. 20, the FCM
report "Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal
Infrastructure" says that close to 80 per cent of Canada's
infrastructure is past its service life. The report estimates that
tackling the "municipal infrastructure deficit" will cost $123 billion.
"It took a
catastrophic bridge
collapse in the United States and an overpass collapse in Quebec, both
with tragic loss of life, to push infrastructure decay to the top of
newscasts," said Winnipeg city councillor Gord Steeves, the current FCM
president. "But even when the consequences are not catastrophic, the
infrastructure decay we all see around us should not be taken for
granted. It points to a looming crisis that. If unchecked, will reduce
our standard of living, our safety and our quality of life."
The study's
cost estimates
include $31 billion for waste and waste water systems, $21.7 billion
for transportation, $22.8 billion for transit, $7.7 billion for
solid-waste management, and $40.2 billion for community, recreational,
cultural and social infrastructure.
McGill
University's Dr. Saeed
Mirza, leader of the study's research team, warns that "the municipal
infrastructure deficit is growing faster than previously thought...
Most municipal infrastructure was built between the 1950s and 1970s,
and much of it is due for replacement. As assets reach the end of their
service life, repair and replacement costs skyrocket. Across Canada,
municipal infrastructure has reached the breaking point."
Steeves says
the $33 billion
earmarked by the federal government for infrastructure investments
across Canada over the next seven years fall far short of the needs. As
he notes, federal money is provided on an ad hoc basis to the
provinces, which have different priorities than municipalities. The FCM
is calling on Parliament for a national plan to fix the infrastructure
deficit, and to provide direct federal funding to municipalities.
"Danger
Ahead" notes that "In
1961, during the initial phase of heavy investment in Canada's
infrastructure, federal, provincial/territorial and municipal
governments each controlled 23.9, 45.3 and 30.9 per cent of the
national capital stock,
respectively. By 2002, the federal
government's share had dropped from 23.9 per cent to 6.8 per cent, and
the municipal share had grown from 30.9 to 52.4 per cent of all
infrastructure."
The report
also points out that
between 1955 and 1977, new investment in infrastructure grew by 4.8 per
cent annually, falling to just 0.1 percent annually during 1978 to
2000. While capital spending by local governments has increased in
recent years, this is still not sufficient to meet population growth or
to rehabilitate existing capital stock.
The analysis
also notes that
while assuming responsibility for much of Canada's capital stock, "this
had to be financed mainly through the property tax... (as) a result,
the average age of municipal infrastructure increased significantly
over this period."
The enormous
scale of the
problem calls for radical solutions, according to the Communist Party
of Canada. The CPC's platform for the next federal election renews the
party's historic call to give full constitutional status and wealth
taxing powers to municipalities. The Communists also propose to return
50% of gas and road user taxes to cities, to provide federal funding
for 25% of capital costs of municipal transit, and to re-establish
low-interest loans to cities and towns. In total, the Communist
platform would give municipalities the powers and funding desperately
needed to tackle the growing infrastructure crisis.
Found at:
http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/articleprint08/06__CANADIAN_CITIES_NEAR_COLLAPSE.html