More money needed to deal with crumbling infrastructure, cities tell feds

VANCOUVER – Canadian cities are asking Ottawa to increase infrastructure funding by $2.5 billion a year in order to keep Canada competitive.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities says that would bring the total to $5.75 billion a year from the federal government — funds that should be matched by the province and municipalities themselves.

And $1 billion of it should be dedicated to fighting gridlock that costs the Canadian economy $10 billion a year in lost productivity.

The current federal funding regime ends in 2014 and the Conservative government is working on a new plan.

The federation would like a 20-year plan that would give cities some stability for planning to repair and replace crumbling infrastructure built half a century ago.

They say Canada is losing ground to global competitors, and must address the aging systems in place in most cities.