D
Darkstar416
Guest
Layton critiques Martin's "new deal" for cities...
'Cities deserve better' Jack Layton attacks Paul Martin 'hype' over new deal (Toronto Star)
Watching Paul Martin's first month as Prime Minister is eerily similar to watching his nine years as finance minister. Before taking office, he speaks of ideas. After taking office, the ideas go out and conservative policies come in.
The latest example is the much-hyped new deal for cities, which gets more hyped and less ambitious the longer Martin is in office.
For years, cities, citizens and businesses have highlighted the urgent need for sustainable transport, water infrastructure and affordable housing. During the same period, finance minister Martin abolished the housing program, refused to help deliver clean water and maintained the shame of Canada being the only G-8 country not to fund public transit.
Nothing's changed. In his first month on the job, Prime Minister Martin's priorities are more corporate tax cuts, Star Wars missile defence talks, and a freeze on public spending.
Indeed, he has flatly refused to follow Dalton McGuinty's lead and cancel corporate tax cuts he can't afford. (In his 2000 budget, Martin said this year's cut was $4.4 billion; he now says it's $1.1 billion.) And he has entered talks on joining a dangerous, $1 trillion-Star Wars missile defence program that would cost Canada $10 billion if we were told to contribute only 1 per cent of the cost.
These are significant choices with large impacts upon government finances and our place in the world. It speaks volumes that these choices could be made in a month, but the most basic first step towards helping cities- sharing the gas tax- has gone from an inviolable commitment to something that may not occur at all.
Instead, we're told municipalities may get a bigger GST refund. This is good, but not great. The City of Toronto alone has paid $500 million in GST since Martin became finance minister. A full refund would provide about $49 million a year, which will still leave the TTC underfunded and a housing crisis in place.
Even using Martin's revised numbers, the cost of the corporate tax cut is twice as much as what refunding cities' GST would cost.
Nor should we forget that, as finance minister, he's already spent $100 billion on tax cuts- a figure almost twice as much as the infrastructure needs of every single community in Canada.
This agenda is unsustainable and will inevitably result in us being ill-prepared for this century's challenges and for property tax rates to continue to climb. Our cities and property taxpayers deserve better.
Let's first dismiss the nonsense that sharing the gas tax is complicated. It's not.
Nothing prevents it from being done today and negotiating a permanent arrangement with the provinces over the next year. If Martin believes in cities, he will have faith in our mayors' ability to ensure provincial governments extend the funding.
It's not naive to believe David Miller or Hazel McCallion would cry bloody murder if McGuinty received federal gas tax money and refused to pass it along to municipalities.
But it is naive to require provinces to match federal funds, since most provinces (unlike the federal government) are facing deficits. Demanding cash-strapped provinces share the bill is a delaying tactic that lets Martin take credit for trying while being able to blame the provinces for failing. It's also hypocritical, given Martin refused long-term investment plans when he was fighting deficits federally in the mid-1990s.
Those deficits are gone, making now the time for Martin to stop talking and start implementing a real plan that reflects the cities' role in modern economic, environmental and social policy.
First, he should share half the gas tax as a dedicated transfer for sustainable transport such as public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure; and rural roads. Sustainable transport is key to our economic health, and central to fighting smog and climate change.
Second, he should stop praising former NDP leaders and start listening to them.
Some 2.2 million people live in houses built by the housing program that NDP leader David Lewis began with Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s. Martin abolished it in the 1990s and refuses to mention a new program, despite housing crises in our biggest cities and smallest First Nations communities.
Affordable housing is key to fighting child poverty, increasing disposable income, creating jobs and creating markets for our beleaguered softwood lumber industry.
Third, instead of starving municipalities and forcing them to privatize public services such as water- Martin is a proponent of P3s, which will do to water systems what the 407 has done for highways- he should start an infrastructure program to help Canadians receive clean water and energy now.
This plan, it's true, costs money. But corporate tax cuts and weaponizing space cost money, too.
I believe cities that work are more important to our economy than helping the banks make even more money; and that we should be building affordable homes to cover our heads before building missile shields to cover our skies.
Martin clearly doesn't agree, but after a decade of his choices, Canadians are ready to start disagreeing back.
We're fed up with the smog, the traffic and the housing crisis and want a government prepared to make wiser choices that improve our economy, environment and quality of life. Now.
Jack Layton is leader of the federal NDP.
'Cities deserve better' Jack Layton attacks Paul Martin 'hype' over new deal (Toronto Star)
Watching Paul Martin's first month as Prime Minister is eerily similar to watching his nine years as finance minister. Before taking office, he speaks of ideas. After taking office, the ideas go out and conservative policies come in.
The latest example is the much-hyped new deal for cities, which gets more hyped and less ambitious the longer Martin is in office.
For years, cities, citizens and businesses have highlighted the urgent need for sustainable transport, water infrastructure and affordable housing. During the same period, finance minister Martin abolished the housing program, refused to help deliver clean water and maintained the shame of Canada being the only G-8 country not to fund public transit.
Nothing's changed. In his first month on the job, Prime Minister Martin's priorities are more corporate tax cuts, Star Wars missile defence talks, and a freeze on public spending.
Indeed, he has flatly refused to follow Dalton McGuinty's lead and cancel corporate tax cuts he can't afford. (In his 2000 budget, Martin said this year's cut was $4.4 billion; he now says it's $1.1 billion.) And he has entered talks on joining a dangerous, $1 trillion-Star Wars missile defence program that would cost Canada $10 billion if we were told to contribute only 1 per cent of the cost.
These are significant choices with large impacts upon government finances and our place in the world. It speaks volumes that these choices could be made in a month, but the most basic first step towards helping cities- sharing the gas tax- has gone from an inviolable commitment to something that may not occur at all.
Instead, we're told municipalities may get a bigger GST refund. This is good, but not great. The City of Toronto alone has paid $500 million in GST since Martin became finance minister. A full refund would provide about $49 million a year, which will still leave the TTC underfunded and a housing crisis in place.
Even using Martin's revised numbers, the cost of the corporate tax cut is twice as much as what refunding cities' GST would cost.
Nor should we forget that, as finance minister, he's already spent $100 billion on tax cuts- a figure almost twice as much as the infrastructure needs of every single community in Canada.
This agenda is unsustainable and will inevitably result in us being ill-prepared for this century's challenges and for property tax rates to continue to climb. Our cities and property taxpayers deserve better.
Let's first dismiss the nonsense that sharing the gas tax is complicated. It's not.
Nothing prevents it from being done today and negotiating a permanent arrangement with the provinces over the next year. If Martin believes in cities, he will have faith in our mayors' ability to ensure provincial governments extend the funding.
It's not naive to believe David Miller or Hazel McCallion would cry bloody murder if McGuinty received federal gas tax money and refused to pass it along to municipalities.
But it is naive to require provinces to match federal funds, since most provinces (unlike the federal government) are facing deficits. Demanding cash-strapped provinces share the bill is a delaying tactic that lets Martin take credit for trying while being able to blame the provinces for failing. It's also hypocritical, given Martin refused long-term investment plans when he was fighting deficits federally in the mid-1990s.
Those deficits are gone, making now the time for Martin to stop talking and start implementing a real plan that reflects the cities' role in modern economic, environmental and social policy.
First, he should share half the gas tax as a dedicated transfer for sustainable transport such as public transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure; and rural roads. Sustainable transport is key to our economic health, and central to fighting smog and climate change.
Second, he should stop praising former NDP leaders and start listening to them.
Some 2.2 million people live in houses built by the housing program that NDP leader David Lewis began with Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s. Martin abolished it in the 1990s and refuses to mention a new program, despite housing crises in our biggest cities and smallest First Nations communities.
Affordable housing is key to fighting child poverty, increasing disposable income, creating jobs and creating markets for our beleaguered softwood lumber industry.
Third, instead of starving municipalities and forcing them to privatize public services such as water- Martin is a proponent of P3s, which will do to water systems what the 407 has done for highways- he should start an infrastructure program to help Canadians receive clean water and energy now.
This plan, it's true, costs money. But corporate tax cuts and weaponizing space cost money, too.
I believe cities that work are more important to our economy than helping the banks make even more money; and that we should be building affordable homes to cover our heads before building missile shields to cover our skies.
Martin clearly doesn't agree, but after a decade of his choices, Canadians are ready to start disagreeing back.
We're fed up with the smog, the traffic and the housing crisis and want a government prepared to make wiser choices that improve our economy, environment and quality of life. Now.
Jack Layton is leader of the federal NDP.
