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The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal Infrastructure

H

Hydrogen

Guest
Canadian cities near collapse, federation says
Globe and Mail Update
November 20, 2007 at 10:51 AM EST

The physical foundations of Canada's cities and communities are "near collapse,†according to a report on the state of municipal infrastructure released Tuesday by Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

"Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal Infrastructure" says that close to 80 per cent of Canada's infrastructure is past its service life and sets the price for eliminating the municipal infrastructure deficit at $123-billion.

“Canada's economy and quality of life and the health and safety of Canadians depend on the infrastructure our municipalities build and own, yet we don't have the resources to maintain it,†FCM president Gord Steeves said in a release.

“If we don't act soon as a nation to tackle this deficit, we will see more catastrophic failures in our roads, bridges, water supply and other vital infrastructure. Continued delay is unthinkable.â€

The FCM says the report provides a snapshot of what municipal governments identify as their infrastructure funding needs. It does not provide an exhaustive or complete account of the physical condition of municipal infrastructure.

The $123-billion estimate in the study includes “sub-deficits†for key categories of municipal infrastructure: water and waste water systems ($31-billion), transportation ($21.7-billion), transit ($22.8-billion, solid-waste management ($7.7-billion) and community, recreational, cultural and social infrastructure ($40.2-billion).

“The $123-billion figure, when compared with earlier estimates, clearly shows the municipal infrastructure deficit is growing faster than previously thought,†said Dr. Saeed Mirza of McGill University's Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, leader of the research team that conducted the study.

“Most municipal infrastructure was built between the 1950s and 1970s, and much of it is due for replacement. As assets reach the end of their service life, repair and replacement costs skyrocket. Across Canada, municipal infrastructure has reached the breaking point.â€

Mr. Steeves said FCM is calling on the federal government and all parties in the House of Commons to acknowledge the need for a real national plan to fix the municipal infrastructure deficit once and for all. “One thing is certain: The cost of fixing this problem will only go up,†Mr. Steeves said. “Any serious plan to eliminate this deficit must begin with an acknowledgment of the scope of the problem and the urgent need to address it. I have written to all party leaders today. All Canadians look forward to their response.â€

______________

Hello Mr. Harper, you listening?
 
It's the false economy of "tax cut" politics. Imagine buying a house and refusing to do any maintenance. "Home ownership is easy," you'd say, "who cares about maintaining the basement, the roof, the windows, the furnace, the air conditioning. Let it all take care of itself." This would work perfectly... for five, or maybe 10 years if you were lucky. Then suddenly everything would break at once and you'd face a hundred thousand dollars in repair bills.

This has been the mindset of governments in Canada and Ontario of late. At first the funding cuts could be absorbed, mostly by cutting back on long term maintenance plans and only doing the bare minimum to keep things operating. Unfortunately, it's now been about 10 or 15 years since tax cutters and downloaders like Mike Harris took office, and the time to pay the piper will be soon.

More optimistically, though, it's pretty clear that voters and governments are very reactionary. All it will take is one or two high profile incidents -- something like the bridge overpass collapse in Quebec -- and suddenly governments will be falling over each other to fix the problems, and the funding will become politically acceptable. For this reason I doubt the entire infrastructure of Canada will collapse -- it may start to collapse, but then we'll magically find our priorities and fix it as quickly as we can.

This will only suck for the unfortunate few who are involved in the first catastrophes. Maybe we should view those who die in these types of overpass collapses as martyrs, sacrificing their lives so the rest of us may live.
 
Since Harper told cities to stuff it, we'd better hope that a bridge over the 401 somewhere in the wilderness collapses, otherwise he'll never notice.
 
I take these kinds of reports with a grain of salt as they are typically written by those looking for job security...you'll never hear an engineer tell you that you don't need an expensive infrastructure fix when one can be built.
 
Canadian cities near collapse

From The Globe and Mail


Canadian cities near collapse: FCM

Globe and Mail Update

November 20, 2007 at 4:50 PM EST

The physical foundations of Canada's cities and communities are "near collapse,†according to a report on the state of municipal infrastructure released Tuesday by Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal Infrastructure says that close to 80 per cent of Canada's infrastructure is past its service life and sets the price for eliminating the municipal infrastructure deficit at $123-billion.

“It took a catastrophic bridge collapse in the United States and an overpass collapse in Quebec, both with tragic loss of life, to push infrastructure decay to the top of newscasts,†said Gord Steeves, a Winnipeg city councillor who is the president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.

“But even when the consequences are not catastrophic, the infrastructure decay we all see around us should not be taken for granted. It points to a looming crisis that. If unchecked, will reduce our standard of living, our safety and our quality of life.â€

The FCM says the report provides a snapshot of what municipal governments identify as their infrastructure funding needs. It does not provide an exhaustive or complete account of the physical condition of municipal infrastructure.

The $123-billion estimate in the study includes “sub-deficits†for key categories of municipal infrastructure: water and waste water systems ($31-billion), transportation ($21.7-billion), transit ($22.8-billion, solid-waste management ($7.7-billion) and community, recreational, cultural and social infrastructure ($40.2-billion).

“The $123-billion figure, when compared with earlier estimates, clearly shows the municipal infrastructure deficit is growing faster than previously thought,†said Dr. Saeed Mirza of McGill University's Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, leader of the research team that conducted the study.

“Most municipal infrastructure was built between the 1950s and 1970s, and much of it is due for replacement. As assets reach the end of their service life, repair and replacement costs skyrocket. Across Canada, municipal infrastructure has reached the breaking point.â€

The federal Conservative government has designated $33-billion over the next seven years for infrastructure investments across Canada.

But Mr. Steeves said that will not come close to addressing the problem because that money flows, on an ad hoc basis, to the provinces, which have priorities that are different to the municipalities.

The municipalities are “the level of government that is in the best position to determine what their own infrastructure needs are,†said Mr. Steeves, who argues that the money should go directly from Ottawa to the municipalities.

This is a national crisis, it deserves a national resolve,†said David Christopherson, an NDP MP from Hamilton who is a former municipal councilor.

Mr. Christoperson said the infrastructure deficit highlights the folly of recent tax cuts offered by the Conservatives.

“If you offered someone the choice between a tax cut on the one hand and making sure that the glass of water that you are about to give your child is not going to kill then,†he said, “I think it's pretty clear which one Canadians would choose.â€

NDP Leader Jack Layton and Prime Minister Stephen Harper sparred over the issue during Question Period on Tuesday. Mr. Harper defended his government's efforts, pointing to the $33-billion national infrastructure fund.

“Since coming to office this government has announced record amounts of spending and record new programs into dealing with infrastructure in Canada,†Mr. Harper said. “In fact, they amount to an additional $33-billion over the next seven years. This covers everything from national down to certain types of municipal and local infrastructure. The NDP voted against all of that, all of those initiatives, but this party voted for it.â€

Mr. Layton said the government has made a lot of announcements without delivering on the money before running off a long list of cities where property taxes are rising to cover infrastructure costs.

“The fact is that the government chose a $14-billion corporate tax cut instead of investing in cities and communities,†Mr. Layton said. “It is homeowners that are having to pay the price... Why should homeowners pay while corporations get big tax cuts and their cities fall apart?

The FCM's report calls on the federal government and all parties in the House of Commons to acknowledge the need for a real national plan to fix the municipal infrastructure deficit once and for all.

“One thing is certain: The cost of fixing this problem will only go up,†Mr. Steeves said. “Any serious plan to eliminate this deficit must begin with an acknowledgment of the scope of the problem and the urgent need to address it. I have written to all party leaders today. All Canadians look forward to ther response.â€

With reports from Gloria Galloway
 
Last week the Granite Club suffered yet another break of the aging water mains, forcing them to relocate events and turn members away.
 
Hmm, perhaps we should rename every street and subway line to our national heroes, and Harper would be less reluctant to let our glories rot...

AoD
 
Veteran Highway 1
Veteran Highway 2...


Highway of Heroes 1
Highway of Heroes 2

Harper Expressway 1
Harper Expressway 2

His Excellency Harper Roadway
Harper the Great Boulevard
 
urbandreamer said:
....how tedious and provincial the globe is becoming.
Click to expand...

With lower case "(g)lobe", the quote is existential and brilliant. Worthy of Camus or Johnson.

However, I am trying to find the numbers but I do recall seeing data at one time that showed Canada having the lowest proportion of taxes collected by municipal governments of any OECD country. So while the feds are flush with funds, and cutting taxes, and the provincial governments are in pretty good shape, the level of government that has the most relevance for people, ie the municipal, is starved for cash.

This is a problem throughout the world and hardly just a Toronto or Canadian issue.

The truth is that a functioning municipal government requires funding. The recent new taxes in Toronto are not going to be enough. And the answer is not more efficiency, less unions, cutting wasteful programmes, more transfers from other levels of government, better politicians, privatization, blah, blah. These would all help but it won't be enough.

So far from being a tedious and provincial issue, if Toronto is to become an interesting, vibrant, clean, dynamic city the issue of municipal funding for infrastructure and services will need to be addressed.

So get used to it, read my lips - INCREASING MUNICIPAL TAXES. The choice is simple, pay more in municipal taxes or live in a not-so-slowly deteriorating city. Sorry, there are no alternatives.




..
 
Hey, here's an idea. What if we taxed a penny on every dollar spent on goods and services, and gave that penny to the municipalities?

Uh, McGuinty?
 
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