CORNER BROOK — Mayor Neville Greeley hopes a report card on infrastructure in Canadian municipalities will open the eyes, and in turn, the pocketbook of the federal government.
The Canadian Infrastructure Report Card is a joint project of the Canadian Construction Association, the Canadian Public Works Association, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering , and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“It lays out quite clearly for the federal government the exact status of roads, water treatment, wastewater/effluent treatment and other municipal infrastructure in the country,” said Greeley.
He said Corner Brook co-operated in the report by providing federation with any data requested. However, only two out of 14 participating communities in the province, Conception Bay South and Gander, are actually named in the report. In all, data from 123 municipalities was used in compiling the report and grading of infrastructure from “very good” to “very poor.”
Greeley said the report card also complements the federation’s lobbying of the federal government to come up with a long-term infrastructure program post 2014.
The significance of 2014 is that is when the federal Building Canada plan expires.
Greeley said the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and its members want to see a new plan developed before that happens.
“We want to hit the ground running so that we don’t lose a full construction season with absolutely nothing being done. That’s not good for municipalities,” said Greeley.
“It’s certainly not good for the Canadian economy to have no construction taking place in municipalities across the country.”
He noted that some infrastructure work municipalities will have to carry out is a result of federal standards and encouraged the government to “come to the plate” and help with funding.
To aid in lobbying for a long-term infrastructure plan the city has signed on to the federation’s Target 2014 campaign.
Greeley said the city will write a letter supporting federation’s efforts to Denis Lebel, minister of Infrastructure Canada, and copy that to the premier, provincial ministers, MHAs, the prime minister and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
