SUMA president welcomes federal infrastructure funding, but says more money needed

Federal funds to help municipalities build and replace infrastructure will be welcomed in communities across Saskatchewan, according to the head of the organization representing the province’s urban governments, but she says more money is needed to help local governments cope with major challenges.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget, which included a projected deficit of $78.3 billion and narrowly passed a confidence vote in the House of Commons this week, included $51 billion earmarked to help “revitalize local infrastructure,” including hospitals, universities and roads, as well as transit and water systems. The budget also promised $3 billion in ongoing annual spending to help communities tackle infrastructure issues.

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“To build the strongest economy in the G7, we must build infrastructure at a speed and scale not seen in generations,” François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s finance minister, said in a statement.

“By delivering this critical infrastructure to communities across the country, we are directly investing in our workers and businesses.”

Randy Goulden, president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association and a city councillor in Yorkton, said she appreciated the rhetoric she heard from Carney and Champagne.

Goulden said she liked hearing Carney say that municipal infrastructure “is absolutely key in nation-building projects, and how we have to have that to grow our country.”

Listen to the full interview with Goulden:

“Hopefully we can work together more to really get the funding down to where it’s needed,” she said during an appearance on the Evan Bray Show on Wednesday morning.

Goulden said the organization’s 440 member governments are largely voicing the same concerns across the province, and challenges around infrastructure is always high on the list.

“We’re struggling, as municipalities across this province, to really fund our infrastructure,” she said.

“I’m fresh off meeting with our members in the northeast, the northwest and the northern part of our province this week, and indeed it’s the same – it’s just the number of zeros that are in your budget.”

But while the new federal funding will be welcomed, Goulden said more money is needed to address some of the urgent needs in many municipalities around the province. She noted that much of the $51 billion fund has already been spoken for, and said she’ll be looking closely at Carney’s next budget, hoping the amount increases.

Goulden said finding the money required for infrastructure projects is frequently a challenge, as governments try to fund much-needed projects while avoiding overburdening their tax base.

“Whether you’re growing in population or you’re growing to try to bring industry or commercial in, you need that infrastructure,” Goulden said.

“Right now, we need help. But then we need long-term, sustainable funding.”

Goulden said mental health and addictions issues are also creating challenges in many communities around Saskatchewan, and funding is often stretched thin as a result.

“It’s not a municipal responsibility,” she noted. “It’s not in our cities act or our municipal act, but that’s happening in our communities, on our streets, in front of our businesses.”

She encouraged all local governments to engage with their MPs and MLAs in order to advocate for more funding.

“They need local examples,” she said. “They need to know the struggles that we’re having.”