Remarks by:
Doug Reycraft, AMO President and
Mayor of Southwest Middlesex

May 13, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 9.00 a.m.
Hilton Windsor, Ontario

AMO President’s Speech at the Large Urban Symposium

(Check Against Delivery)

Thank you.

It’s a pleasure to welcome you all to AMO’s first Large Urban Symposium.

Many people still refer to municipal government as their “local government”, but we all know that the challenges cities face extend well beyond your local borders.

They are regional, national, and increasingly, international in scope.

Today’s program recognizes that we all have to “think globally” before we act locally.

And that is true for a broad range of issues, be they environmental, economic, cultural or social.

We have assembled tremendous presenters for you today.

• Ton Schaap, Amsterdam’s senior planning official, and Marc Ryan of West 8 Architects will tell us how they transformed Amsterdam’s industrial dockyards into a thriving residential community.

• Pamela Wallin will share her thoughts about Canada-U.S. relations.  She is Canada’s former Consul General to New York and she is currently a senior advisor to the President of the Americas Society / Council of the Americas.

We also have homegrown experts to share their insights and success stories.

Last night kicked the symposium off with Sandra Pupatello, our Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

I think we are all becoming increasingly aware of the importance of economic development and the potential benefits for our communities and our province.

Today you will hear from:
• Jim Watson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing;
• Dr. Saad Jasim from the Walkerton Clean Water Centre;
• Geoff Lupton, Hamilton’s Manager of Energy Initiatives;
• Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis;
• Elenor McMahon and Norma Moores on active transportation; and
• Mark Kuznicki on community engagement.

It’s going to be a full day. 

I want to take a moment to thank Mayor Francis as the representative of our host city.  

We also need to thank our sponsors.  We could not have created this program without their generous support.

Please join me in showing our appreciation to Walmart Canada; the Walkerton Clean Water Centre; the Ontario Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal, and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
 
This conference recognizes that Ontario’s population is becoming more urban and that our cities are managing unique challenges and opportunities.  

Four out of every five Canadians now live in a city – and one half live in either Montreal, Vancouver or the Golden Horseshoe.

While much attention is being given to oil and gas producing provinces, cities continue to be strong engines of economic growth.  In 2005, ten major cities were responsible for half of Canada’s gross domestic product.

Not surprisingly, municipal leaders are under pressure to perform.

That pressure goes well beyond the fact that we are on the front line with the public.

City services such as water treatment, garbage collection, roads, public transit, and policing have always had the greatest impact on the everyday lives.

However, these services take on greater meaning in urban communities, where the quality of municipal services has a strong influence on local economic conditions.

It’s that fact – and all that it means for businesses, individuals and families – that really shines the spotlight on urban municipalities.

And it’s not just city residents.  Northern and rural municipalities also have their eye on how urban municipalities are doing.  In general terms, your success is good for them, and your hard times are their hard times.

During the past month, I have toured the province speaking to several audiences – including a wide variety of municipal associations, the Association of Police Services Boards and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. 

Each conference has been unique, but the most pressing issues have been the same:
• fiscal sustainability
• the quality of service delivery
• infrastructure and,
• Ontario’s economy.

These themes dominate today’s conference.

One reason everyone is talking about them is the fact that they are interconnected – along with other urban challenges such as environmental sustainability, immigration and homelessness.

Minister Pupatello provided her thoughts on Urban Economic Development.

I appreciate that the economy is on people’s minds these days.

Last week I spoke to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting.  I’m pleased to say that AMO has the Chamber’s support on several issues. 

The Chamber understands and appreciates that Ontario’s property tax base is overburdened with Provincial Program costs… which makes it difficult for municipalities to invest in infrastructure… which, in turn, diminishes Ontario’s competitiveness and quality of life.

I assured the Chamber that AMO recognizes the need to advocate policies and priorities that encourage economic growth.

To that end, AMO is establishing an Economic Development Task Force that will advise our Board of Directors on issues and potential strategies in the field of economic development.  It will also seek to increase collaboration among municipalities, stakeholders and all orders of government.

Of course, the face of our business community is changing.  Urban areas attract the majority of newcomers to Canada and they are making their mark in Ontario’s cities.

Today’s cities have significant numbers of both foreign-born residents and visible minorities.

In 2001 there were 1.8 million people living in Canada who had immigrated to the country in the previous ten years – 73% were living in the GTA, Vancouver or Montreal.  Another 21% were living in other cities.

Large numbers of new Canadians have immigrated to Canada from China and South Asia – which represent two of the world’s largest markets.

For many years now, Canada’s immigration policies have favoured the highly educated and affluent.  We know that we are attracting people who can succeed.  However, many have struggled to fulfill their true potential here.

The cliché of foreign trained doctors and engineers driving taxi cabs is all too real.

It’s in our best interest to ensure that immigrants achieve success on arrival, as opposed to a generation later.  We need them to contribute to our communities, buy homes for their families, and pay taxes.

We also need them to create jobs and new opportunities to expand trade internationally.

Not surprisingly, AMO has taken an increasing interest in Canada’s immigration policy.  While it is not directly within the municipal jurisdiction, too much is riding on it to merely sit back with our fingers crossed.

We have established direct lines of communication with the Federal and Provincial governments on immigration matters and we will continue to champion the importance of making sure that your concerns are heard and appreciated.  

As urban leaders, you know that the most important settlement services available are, in fact, the broad array of municipal services provided – from libraries to transit, as well as social services, housing etc.
 
That is another key area where we are looking to the Federal government for leadership -- housing.

AMO, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and municipal associations across the country are concerned that the Federal Government has not committed to a national policy and a funding framework to address chronic homelessness and the need for affordable housing. 

Thousands of Canadians will remain homeless in the absence of Federal leadership, funding and intergovernmental cooperation.

The obvious human tragedy is compounded by the financial strain that homelessness places on government, and the lost potential of families consumed by the search for shelter.  It is already costing all Canadians a great deal financially and socially.  Municipalities, through AMO and FCM, have given the Minister practical recommendations that will better serve those in need and all Canadians in general.

Quite frankly, the Federal Government’s silence on the matter surprises me.

The traditional debate that public housing programs are a left wing strategy has been turned on its head.  Some of you may have heard Philip Mangano speak on this topic at last summer’s AMO conference.

He is the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.  Appointed by George Bush, he has led a growing chorus of Americans who now realize that it costs less to house homeless people than it does to have them on the streets or in temporary shelters. 

U.S. cities that have invested in stable housing have seen a return through lower costs for policing, public health, welfare, and outreach services. 

Once housed, the communities also have a much stronger platform to treat mental health and addiction problems that often caused people to become homeless in the first place.

AMO has recently released a policy paper on housing and homelessness that I encourage you to read.  

Whenever we are discussing urban priorities, the elephant in the room is always our unsustainable fiscal relationship with the province.

There is a great deal that we want to do with respect to immigration, the environment, recreation and culture – but how do we invest there when we are struggling to meet the costs of Provincial programs such as ambulance services, public health, and welfare.

Clearly we have to start with a sustainable match between municipal revenue and municipal responsibilities.

This has been the key focus of AMO’s work in recent years.   I believe the future of Ontario’s municipalities – and by extension all Ontario – depends on our ability to achieve that sustainable fiscal balance.
 
Working hard and working together – municipally and provincially – is the only way to get there. I think it’s fair to say that today the Province understands this.  We’ve achieved more together in the past year than in the entire decade before it, maybe even in two decades.

This spring’s Ontario Budget was a powerful indication of that.

It included:
• The phased upload of the costs of the provincial Ontario Drug Benefits program and Ontario Disability Support Program.  Once fully implemented in 2011, this step will mean municipal tax payers will not be sending $935 million in municipal revenue to the province each year;
• An additional $400 million in infrastructure funding for roads and bridges and $450 million through the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative, and, if funding is available;
• Dedicating a portion of a 2007/08 provincial budget surplus for municipal infrastructure funding on a per capita basis.

These announcements have evolved from our work with the Province on the Provincial- Municipal Fiscal and Services Delivery Review.  We are working together – which is good news for taxpayers and for Ontario’s competitiveness.

In late June the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review will release consensus-based recommendations on how to make sure that both orders of government can deliver quality services affordably and accountably.

As we enter the last leg of work on the Review, it’s more important than ever that we continue to stand together.   It will also be important to stay focused on both our short- term and long-term objectives.

The process has taken time. That is not surprising given the complexity of the issues – and the nature of our 445 municipalities.

Ontario is large and diverse.  It’s important that we take time to incorporate reliable information and analysis to get the fundamentals right for all municipalities.

Ultimately we are working towards a package that provides a much better fiscal framework than we have today.

We know the fiscal condition of the Province is not the same as when the Review started.
 
And to be sure, I don’t think anyone could reasonably expect that the Review will solve all of our problems. 
 
It certainly will not solve all of our problems overnight. 

But it will move us to a better position with respect to fiscal sustainability.

And I have no doubt that there will be areas where we will not achieve consensus.

Years of deferred investments have taken their toll on our roads, and on most of the systems and facilities our communities need to remain vibrant and competitive.

While there are varying estimates of how big the municipal infrastructure deficit is, all reports are unanimous in their conclusion:
• the deficit is too large for one order of government to bear alone;
• it’s too large to address in one generation; and
• the burden will become untenable if we don’t take immediate action to begin addressing the urgent need for predictable and significant investments.

Our need for long-term, multi-government funding for infrastructure is urgent.

One-time programs like those announced in the provincial budget are welcomed and helpful.

But structural change what’s really needed.  And the ODB-ODSP was a good start.

The 2008 Federal Budget commitment to make the Federal Gas Tax a permanent source of funding was an important acknowledgment of this. 

This year’s $375 million for Ontario’s municipalities becomes almost $750 million annually next year – and it’s permanent!
 
This funding has already supported more than 900 green infrastructure projects since its inception in 2005.
 
Predictable and entitlement-based, this funding invests in our future prosperity and creates jobs at a time when jobs are needed.

The participation of the Federal government in green infrastructure investments also speaks to just how integrated our challenges are.

Federal funding is needed to build better infrastructure in Ontario.  That infrastructure is needed to ensure that people and goods are moving across our borders and between our regions.  It gets us to work, and it supplies our energy. 

Our economy and the well-being of our families depend on it. It makes us prosperous and sustains our tax revenue.  Without that revenue, we could not even entertain the notion of housing the homeless or better protecting our environment.

We are impacted by forces that we cannot control.  Most notably the high dollar and economic troubles in the U.S. 

All the more reason why we need to do the best we can in the areas that we do control.

That is what this symposium is all about. 

We know that we have to work together and we have to apply new ideas and new approaches if we are going to tackle our current challenges and seize opportunities.

I hope this first symposium contributes to that effort and that it is the first of many. 

Thank you.