Valérie proposed, the outgoing mayor of Montreal, has repeatedly requested higher levels of government that helps address the most pressing problems of the city, from the lack of housing to the expansion of his public transport network.
Earlier this week, he also pressed the Federal Government to give more money for another great challenge: to help cities adapt to climate change.
But what can the city really do?
While citizens prepare to vote in the municipal elections of November 2, experts say that the next municipal leader in Montreal and in all Quebec must build alliances with other levels of government and use the tools they have.
Who makes
Daily, residents in Montreal and throughout Canada trust their municipality to provide basic services, from the water that leaves their tap and road maintenance to snow removal and garbage collection.
The municipalities are not responsible for medical care, education, immigration and much of the policies that help determine the cost of housing.
However, local elected officials are also trying to deal with more complex problems such as the lack of housing and an increase in drug overdose, lack of affordable homes and the expansion of the public transport network.
Rebecca Blight, president of the Federation of Canadian municipalities (FCM) and a city councilor of Vancouver, said the municipalities are “assuming many of the costs” associated with housing, the lack of housing and public safety.
“They are dealing with a large number of other challenges related to what could normally be the responsibility of high -level government levels,” he said in an interview.
Financing limitations
In Canada, property taxes are the main source of financing for municipalities, while federal and provincial governments are based on a much larger income group, including income tax and sales tax.
The municipalities manage and maintain more than 60 percent of the public infrastructure of Canada, but receive only between eight and 10 cents of each dollar of taxes collected at all levels of government, according to the FCM.
The FCM argues that the financing model for the municipalities is outdated, given the demands facing cities such as Montreal.
The BLIGH organization is asking for an increase in the annual transfers of the federal government to the municipalities in $ 2.6 billion, which raises the total of $ 5 billion.
“The fiscal framework that the municipalities are accused is another time,” he said.
Every day, even if you do not own a house or even leave the house, trust the services of the city. Who to choose will determine what is prioritized.
Intergovernmental issues
Danielle Pilette, a professor who specializes in municipal matters in the Department of Urban Studies of the University du Québec à Montréal, said that cities like Montreal do not have “means or authority to handle very complicated situations, such as the housing crisis.”
She added: “It is not just Montreal, it is the same in other provinces. Cities are creatures of the provinces; federal money must first pass through the provinces, which adds layers of delay and uncertainty.”
Problems such as the lack of housing will not be solved, he said, “until there is a better coordination between all levels of government and the municipalities themselves.
“Currently, social services double at the provincial and municipal level,” he said.
Zoning, local solutions and being a “good defender”
Alison Smith, an associated professor at the University of Toronto, studied the municipal government and the response to the homeless people throughout the country. She also said that these great challenges faced by cities require “all levels of government.”
According to the current model, much of it is reduced to the ability to work with other levels of government, said Smith.
“Part of this is reduced to being a good defender,” he said.
Local governments said, they have “so much experience, both knowledge of local groups, local solutions, and there are many cases throughout the country where local governments have associated with community groups.”
A recent example of success, said Smith, is the Old Brewery Mission, the largest homeless people in the city.
James Hughes, executive director of the mission, said there is much that the city can do despite the division of powers between municipal, provincial and federal governments.
“They have zoning and regulation powers to ensure that projects can advance and the speed at which they often advance is in the hands of cities,” he said.
Earlier this week, the city announced a modular housing project at the old racetrack site in the District of Costa-Des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
The three levels of government, together with the mission, were involved.
Although public security is already an important problem in the Montreal Municipal Elections career, with a dramatic growth in the discouragement of the city in recent years, at least one party seems to stand out even more with an important promise of expenses.
Who receives a voice
Municipal elections tend to obtain low participation. In Quebec 2021 municipal elections, only 38 percent of eligible voters cast a vote.
In comparison, 69 percent voted in federal elections earlier this year.
Blight said he is in municipal candidates to demonstrate the importance of voting and choosing the correct candidate.
“Either housing, whether homeless or a mental health challenge: we receive emails, we see these residents in groceries, in sands,” he said.
“These are our neighbors.”
