Mississauga City Council passed a resolution at yesterday's meeting to support the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) campaign to ensure the new federal long-term infrastructure plan meets the infrastructure needs of cities.

"Municipalities keep the Canadian economy strong and are the level of government closest to the people with daily impact on people’s lives," said Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. "The City of Mississauga owns $8 billion in assets which will require funding to maintain and we are not alone. Infrastructure funding concerns are faced across the country and for many years Mississauga has advocated for an adequate infrastructure funding source. Municipal property tax is burdened with things it was never intended to fund. The solution for Canada is clear, a sustainable source of funding to keep municipalities strong for the people they serve."

The current federal infrastructure funding program for municipalities will end when the federal government's Building Canada Plan expires in March 2014. The federal government has plans to develop a new plan before the deadline and the FCM launched a campaign, Target 2014: Building our Future, to ensure the new plan reflects municipal priorities across the country and asked its member municipalities to pass a Council resolution supporting the campaign.

"Cities are what make Canada great," said Chris Fonseca Ward 3 Councillor and FCM delegate who moved the motion at yesterday's Council meeting to support the campaign. 'A consistent source of funding is required to assist cities meet the needs of residents. A seamless transition from the Building Canada Plan to a new long term plan is necessary to ensure that municipalities can continue planning their capital spending effectively."

The City of Mississauga's Budget Committee annually considers an infrastructure levy on the City portion of the property tax as part of the City's business and budget planning process. This practice began in 2008 to help cover the growing cost of infrastructure funding needs.

For more information on the FCM campaign, Target 2014: Building our Future, visit the FCM website.

As Canada's sixth largest city, Mississauga is home to 738,000 residents and 55,000 businesses, including 63 Fortune 500 companies with Canadian head offices or major divisional head offices. A diverse, progressive and award-winning municipality located on the shores of Lake Ontario in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, Mississauga is "Leading Today for Tomorrow" by focussing on delivering services, implementing its Strategic Plan, delivering value for money and maintaining infrastructure.

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FCM Resolution