Moved by: Regional Councillor Santos
Seconded by: Mayor Brown
Whereas:
1) Canada, now reaching 40 million in population, continues to experience record-breaking growth, with Brampton considered one of the fastest growing big cities in the country;
2) Our country’s successful growth is intrinsically linked to our cities, towns and communities;
3) Like all Canadians, Brampton residents are facing acute challenges, including housing shortages, homelessness, a lack of mental health support, extreme weather events, concern for public safety and a reliance on aging infrastructure;
4) We want our kids to play in well-kept parks and enjoy lively community centres, our businesses to transport goods on maintained municipal roads and bridges, our senior citizens to be able to live affordably, our students to have a reliable transit system, our newcomers to find suitable housing, our families to be raised in a safe and healthy environment, and our most vulnerable to have access to much-needed support;
5) As Canadians grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities like Brampton, which was stigmatized as a “hot-spot” tackled challenges both within and outside of their traditional jurisdiction, including public health, housing and emergency services which clearly exposed the vulnerability of our local services;
6) Emerging from the pandemic, we've seen federal and provincial sales and income taxes increase rapidly while overall municipal property tax revenue has remained flat—or even declined—when accounting for inflation and population growth;
7) Municipalities are operating within a nineteenth-century revenue system based mostly on property tax collection, to respond to 21st-century responsibilities and evolving needs of Canadians;
8) Municipalities manage more than 60 percent of Canada’s public infrastructure yet only receive between 8 and 10 cents for each tax dollar collected;
9) Municipalities, like Brampton are rising to meet these challenges with leadership and innovation but are constrained by an outdated framework that was not designed for the realities of 2023;
10) The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), representing over 2,000 municipalities big and small across the country, is the national voice for Canada's local governments; and
11) In May 2023, at FCM’s Annual Conference, and with full support from the Big City Mayor’s Caucus, FCM members passed a resolution outlining the need for the development of a new growth framework to support Canadian municipalities and the people who call our communities home. This resolution gives FCM a mandate to:
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- Declare that Canada needs a modernized growth framework for municipalities.
- Lead the development of a Municipal Growth Framework that links municipal financial capacity to challenges such as population growth and economic growth.
- Call on the federal government to engage with FCM in the development of this framework;
12) FCM’s call for a modernized growth framework is consistent with Brampton’s needs for increased support to deliver important local services and infrastructure to keep up with exponential growth.
Therefore be it resolved that:
1) Council officially endorse FCM and the Big City Mayor’s Caucus’ work calling on the Federal Government to develop a modernized growth framework; and
2) Council include FCM’s call for a modernized municipal growth framework in future advocacy efforts and material to the federal government