Federation of Canadian Municipalities announces recommendations for upcoming federal budget

Councillor Krista Balsom recently took part in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board meeting in St-Hyacinthe, Québec, where FCM released its recommendations for the upcoming federal budget, Building Better Lives with Budget 2020. The federal budget represents a key opportunity to improve the everyday life of residents living in the Wood Buffalo region and Canadians across the country, with critical investments in clean public transit, housing affordability and infrastructure for communities of all sizes.

“Whether it’s permanent transit funding, climate action, or access to adequate broadband, municipalities are ready to bring life to the commitments we’ve heard from this government,” said FCM board member and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Councillor, Krista Balsom. “It is an opportunity for the government to show it can deliver for the Wood Buffalo Region and FCM is offering a clear path toward results that people can see and feel in their daily lives.” 

FCM’s submission lays out clear steps to delivering for Canadians through Budget 2020: 

• Uniting municipal leaders from western communities: Leading important conversations, through the Western Economic Solutions Taskforce (WEST), to find solutions for struggling western communities and ensuring the municipal perspectives of communities in the west are heard at the federal level. 
• New progress on housing affordability: Filling key gaps in the National Housing Strategy by investing directly in supportive housing, along with social/affordable housing for Indigenous households—while opening a new front of leadership on the affordability of market rental housing.
• Strengthening communities of all sizes: Shoring up key funding tools for better local infrastructure, investing directly in Canada’s rural and northern communities, including rural mobility and transportation solutions and access to adequate broadband. The submission also calls on the federal government to drive immediate progress for struggling western communities by implementing immediate-term proposals from FCM’s Western Economic Solutions Taskforce. 

“We’re offering solutions everyone can get behind and we are putting forward concrete climate action that builds better lives across the country,” said Balsom. “Our public transit solutions mean faster commutes and lower emissions. Our disaster mitigation and climate adaptation solutions include protecting communities from the impacts of new weather extremes. We want to do more for Canadians and we’re looking to Budget 2020 to deepen our municipal-federal partnership.”

Shortly after last fall’s federal election, FCM released comprehensive recommendations for the new minority parliament in 15 policy areas. The latest recommendations are a shortlist of proposals that Budget 2020 can implement immediately to drive results for all Canadians. 

FCM unites nearly 2,000 local governments at the national level, representing more than 90 per cent of Canadians in every province and territory. Councillor Krista Balsom represents Alberta on the FCM Board of Directors. To learn more about FCM, visit fcm.ca.