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Let Canadians Hear Leaders Debate Municipal Issues, Says FCM |
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Written by Wire Services
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Saturday, 03 December 2005 |
Canada's prosperity depends on strong cities and communities. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is calling on the broadcasters' consortium overseeing the televised leaders' debates to guarantee that questions about issues affecting municipalities are included in each debate.
That was the message from the FCM National Board of Directors, meeting in Ottawa today.
"We've had expressions of support from every party, but now it's time to hear the details," said FCM President Michael Coleman. "The leaders' debates will give Canadians a chance to hear first-hand how the parties intend to deal with street-level problems, like decaying infrastructure, affordable housing, water quality and spiralling transportation costs."
"It may be a winter election, but we don't want to be frozen out of this debate," Coleman said.
FCM has been calling for a commitment to erasing the $60-billion municipal infrastructure deficit. The Federation also wants funds allocated by the last Parliament for affordable housing and transit to be paid out quickly by the next government. "Our communities urgently need these funds, and we want to hear from all
the party leaders that moving quickly on these questions will be at the top of
the agenda for the new Parliament," said Coleman. |
