[Coldrsx]

Time for Conservatives to speak up for cities

Urban Canada is underfunded and under-represented

BY DAVID STAPLES, EDMONTON JOURNAL APRIL 13, 2011 7:18 AM COMMENTS (1)


The federal government must support cities with infrastructure projects.
Photograph by: John Lucas, The Journal, File, Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - Stephen Harper's Conservatives offer much to big city voters in the coming federal election, but they would be more compelling - in Edmonton and across Canada - if they had a serious plan to build better cities.

The Conservatives fail the cities on a few important issues, such as infrastructure funding. That's part of the reason our major cities are falling behind their global competitors.

The Conservatives also need to do more when it comes to big and growing cities getting fair representation in the House of Commons to ensure that our votes count as much as votes in over-represented Quebec, the Maritimes and rural Canada.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/decision-canada/David+Staples+Time+Conservatives+speak+cities/4606443/story.html

[kool maudit]

north american conservatism has a broad populist streak.

a more elitist conservatism would open the ideology up to the cities.

[someone123]

This article's message is basically "we should get more money". Not the most compelling. Where do they mention valuable Edmonton projects that were not funded?

I can list a few in the supposedly over-represented Maritimes.

[MolsonExport]

you mean the suburbs. Cons don't really have much of a chance in the older central cities.

Rural and Exurbs: Cons/Bloc
Suburbs: Cons/Libs/Bloc/NDP
Cities: Libs/NDP

[Spocket]

The Cons definitely blew it on this one .
One of the things that got them voted in was their assurance that funding would be restored to infrastructure . The Liberals had neglected our highways and infrastructure for so long that a lot of people were wondering if we'd ever see a smooth road again . In all fairness though , the Grits did this as part of their efforts to pay down the debt or at least reign it in . On the other hand , sooner or later somebody was going to have to pay the piper whether they be Con or Lib .

I'm not sure that the Liberals are all that gung ho about infrastructure spending either . They don't seem to place the appropriate value on highways at least . The more I think about it though , the more I'm concluding that all parties know people will complain about the roads but won't do much more than that as long as they're passable . I guess I'd do the same thing were I in charge and the budget was limited .

[whatnext]

...The Liberals had neglected our highways and infrastructure for so long that a lot of people were wondering if we'd ever see a smooth road again...

Really?

I wonder who that guy was who looked a lot like Paul Martin who kicked in $300 million for Vancouver's Canada Line. Or put up the money for the Kicking Horse Pass highway project, or...you get the idea.

[Doady]

It shouldn't be the federal government's responsibility fund the wasteful spending habits of irresponsible Liberal and NDP-supporting cities. Cities would have not be short of money if they elected governments who know how cut spending and waste. Stop electing socialist mayors and councillors and the city won't need to rely on high level of government to bail them out. That's what Toronto did. If more cities had a mayor like Rob Ford, they wouldn't have so many fiscal problems, it's as simple as that.

[The Chemist]

It shouldn't be the federal government's responsibility fund the wasteful spending habits of irresponsible Liberal and NDP-supporting cities. Cities would have not be short of money if they elected governments who know how cut spending and waste. Stop electing socialist mayors and councillors and the city won't need to rely on high level of government to bail them out. That's what Toronto did. If more cities had a mayor like Rob Ford, they wouldn't have so many fiscal problems, it's as simple as that.

:rolleyes:

It was the FEDERAL and PROVINCIAL governments that put the cities in the miserable position they're in today, by downloading services and responsibilities to the city without providing adequate funding for them.

After all, don't forget that cities don't even exist in the Canadian Constitution.

[MolsonExport]

Relax, just Doady being facetious once again.

[Spocket]

Really?

I wonder who that guy was who looked a lot like Paul Martin who kicked in $300 million for Vancouver's Canada Line. Or put up the money for the Kicking Horse Pass highway project, or...you get the idea.

Gee , and how long was Paul Martin our Prime Minister ?
The Liberals DID cut infrastructure funding (or , more precisely , simply neglected to raise levels as necessary) Gas taxes are supposed to be dedicated to infrastructure but instead we've been getting about %5 returned for that purpose . A few hundred million sounds like a lot until you realize what a tiny fraction of the money we're supposed to be getting it is .

As I said , I understand why it was necessary to do what had to be done where budgeting was concerned . It wasn't exactly a case of willful neglect . On the other hand , with the infrastructure deficit having grown tremendously over the 13 years of Liberal rule you can't exactly argue that they put much effort into maintaining our highways .

[ToxiK]

Time for Conservatives to speak up for cities
The Conservatives also need to do more when it comes to big and growing cities getting fair representation in the House of Commons to ensure that our votes count as much as votes in over-represented Quebec, the Maritimes and rural Canada.


Québec is WAY over-represented :rolleyes: . We are about 23% of the population and we have about 24% or the total number of MPs. So we are about 1 percentage point over-represented. We are probably the closest province in Canada for the most representative ratio MP/Population.