Mississauga to Receive ‘Tens of Millions’ from Trudeau Government
Published March 20, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is praising the 2019 federal budget as a boon to municipalities–including Mississauga.
In a recent statement, Crombie said the budget that was recently released by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will ensure that “tens of millions” flow to Mississauga.
A few days later, Crombie–who appeared alongside Trudeau and MP Omar Alghabra at an event–said the funding will total $80 million.
“Today, the federal government reaffirmed the important role that cities play in powering the nation by making several strategic, long-term investments in our growth. This year’s budget signals a modernization in our relationship with the federal government by putting tools and funding directly in the hands of cities like Mississauga,” Crombie said in a statement.
“Many of the investments will flow directly to us, ensuring that we are able to access funding quickly to deliver results for residents while addressing our city-building priorities.”
Crombie said she’s pleased to see investments in a number of specific areas that are critical to building a “21st Century city.”
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The federal government has committed to a one-time, doubling of the gas tax fund to $2.2 billion.
According to Crombie, funding will be directly transferred to cities–something she had been calling for, along with other Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) members, for some time.
“This is an important change and one of the largest fund transfers from the federal government to municipalities. This top-up will help us build strong cities and spur economic growth by helping cities address infrastructure deficits and plan for future transit and roads,” Crombie said.
Crombie has also praised the federal government’s plans to help prospective homeowners purchase their first house.
Through the First Time Home Buyers Incentive, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will invest up to the $1.25 billion over three years to, ideally, make it easier for first time home-buyers to get in the market. It will also include increasing the RRSP withdrawal limit from $25,000 to $35,000.
Crombie says this initiative will help Mississauga further activate it Making Room for the Middle Affordable Housing Strategy–a city-owned strategy that includes incentivizing developers to include affordable units in future builds, protecting the city’s existing rental stock and regulating secondary units (better known as basement apartments).
Crombie also praised the the Green Municipal Fund (GMF), a fund through which cities will be able to access $1 billion in funding directly through FCM to help improve energy efficiency in residential, commercial and municipal properties.
Three streams of funding can be accessed to help retrofit and improve energy conservation of community buildings ($300M), provide financing for residents to undertake home energy retrofits ($300M), support affordable housing development ($350M) and help small communities to manage their assets ($60M).
Crombie also lauded the skills development portion of the budget.
“To help ensure that our workforce has the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing economy where precarious employment is on the rise, workers will be able to access up to $250 a year to help pay for training and income support through the new Canada Training Benefit,” Crombie said.
“As I have said repeatedly, city-building is nation-building. As cities, we build the infrastructure that makes our economy and our country run. I’m pleased the federal government recognizes the important role that cities play in our federation and are making targeted investments to help us deliver services and build capital for all Canadians,” Crombie said.
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