Yorkton This Week sent a list of ten questions to each of the five candidates running in the Yorkton-Melville riding in the 2019 Federal Election. Every day for ten days, we will post their answers. Yorkton-Melville heads to the polls on Oct. 21.
AgingÌýinfrastructure is still a huge issue in Yorkton-Melville, both in the cities and surrounding small towns, and many communities struggle to keep up to date. How would your party support communities of all sizes as they perform these upgrades?
Ryan Schultz, People's Party of Canada:
The PPC believes the provincesÌýand municipalities are best suited to decide what infrastructure projects need additional funding. This is why we would reduce federal taxes while working with the provinces to raise their PST so the provinces are free to make these decisions. In cases ofÌýthe smaller provinces who would require additional funding to make up short falls, we would rewrite the equalization formula to cover them.
Cathay Wagantall, Conservative Party:
As conservatives we recognize that economic activity and growth go hand in hand with improving and expanding infrastructure. I hear continually that communities want a stable, foreseeable source of infrastructure funding that they can count on that will enable them to make long term plans. The gas tax refund is a model of this type of funding stability. We are convinced that both infrastructure and procurement funding needs to be de-politicized so our communities are safe and our armed forces are properly equipped.
Stacey Wiebe, Green Party:
Give municipal governments a seat at the policy-making table through the Council of Canadian Governments.
Encourage the use of City Charters which give greater autonomy to cities.
Makes changes to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to reduce interest rates to municipalities on loans for infrastructure projects.
Institutionalize federal transfers to municipalities through the creation of a Municipal Fund, renaming the Gas Tax funds, which were delinked from gas tax revenue years ago. Ensure a doubling of current funding to ensure predictable and reliable funding to municipalities.
Allocate one per cent of GST to housing and other municipal infrastructure on an ongoing basis to provide a consistent baseline of funding.
Answer the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ and Vancouver Mayor’s Council’s call for a permanent, dedicated federal public transit fund of $3.4 billion annually starting in 2028, once the existing transit funding program expires.
Carter Antoine, New Democratic Party:
Our platform calls for a major investment in retrofitting buildings across the country to be more energy efficient and, at the same time, upgrade aging infrastructure. This will create jobs, give a boost to local communities and help lower our carbon footprint. Our plan also commits to investing heavily in public transportation, replacing the bus routes recently abandoned by Greyhound and the STC. This will help rural communities stay connected to one another and allow those who don’t drive to remain in their communities without being isolated.
Connor Moen, Liberal Party:
Over the last four years, the Liberal government has invested over $1Billion dollars into infrastructure in Saskatchewan. It's clear that more needs to be done in areas of our community from roads, to water infrastructure. This past year, the Liberal Government doubled the gas tax transfer to local municipalities allowing local municipalities to prioritize and work on infrastructure projects of their own need. I believe more transfers like that could be key to modernizing infrastructure.
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