Moose Jaw City Council passed a motion on Monday denouncing the idea that the federal government eliminate the Canadian Community Building Fund, formally known as the Federal Gas Tax Fund. 

The motion was made by Coun. Dawn Luhning. She outlined that Moose Jaw has received millions of dollars in funding for infrastructure through the federal Gas Tax Fund. If the Gas Tax Fund were to be axed, the burden would fall on the taxpayers. 

“Obviously, council knows and administration understands, but I think the taxpayers need to understand the amount of money that this city has received over the years with the Gas Tax Fund. The fact that the federal government is considering possibly getting rid of that could mean huge, huge costs to our taxpayers and to our citizens,” Luhning said. 

She gave a few examples. The wastewater treatment system upgrade project cost $18.5 million, in which $9.5 million was covered by the Gas Tax Fund. Upgrades to the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant cost $10 million and the Gas Tax Fund covered half that cost. The east water feeder line and water main replacement project came with a $15 million price tag and $3 million was covered by the Gas Tax Fund. 

Coun. Crystal Froese spoke in support of the motion. She said she did some research into the matter and found that several other municipalities had passed similar motions. Froese did ask what work would need to be done by city administration. 

City Manager Maryse Carmichael answered that she was asked about the Gas Tax Fund by the Saskatchewan Urban Municipality Association (SUMA). 

“They wanted our opinion on the proposal, so that was already voiced. The opposition was already voiced on the administration side and I think if this motion passes then it supports administration's position for sure,” Carmichael said. 

Luhning added that the Federal Gas Tax Fund was brought up at the last SUMA board meeting and that is when municipalities decided to put forward similar motions. 

You can read Luhnings full motion that was passed unanimously below: 

That whereas Canada is experiencing record population growth, having welcomed 1.25 million new Canadians last year alone. And whereas according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, we need to build at least 3.5 million additional homes by 2030 and municipalities need to build or expand the infrastructure to accommodate this growth. 

And whereas FCM has estimated that the cost of the municipal infrastructure required to support housing development is, on average, in the range of $107,000 per unit. 

And whereas according to Statistics Canada, the cost to upgrade existing municipal infrastructure so that it is in a state of good repair is in the range of $170 billion and whereas non-residential construction price inflation has risen by 29 per cent since the end of 2020 and municipalities are facing soaring costs for infrastructure projects without a corresponding growth in revenue. 

And whereas, unlike federal and provincial revenue, municipal tax revenue has not increased in recent years. Along with inflation, economic growth or population growth.  

And whereas municipalities are facing a gap in federal infrastructure funding as the 10-year Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has come to an end. The Canada Community Building Fund is being renegotiated and the permanent Public Transit Fund is set to start in 2026.  

Whereas the Canadian Community Building Fund, which was formally known as the federal Gas Tax Fund, provides more than $2.4 billion in annual capital funding directly to municipalities through a predictable allocation mechanism and municipalities of all sizes use this fund to deliver direct results for Canadians by building and renewing critical core public infrastructure, including water infrastructure, local roads, public transit and community, and cultural and recreation facilities. 

Therefore, be it resolved that the federal government work with agreement signatories and municipalities to maintain the CBF as a source of direct, predictable long-term funding for local infrastructure priorities, formerly known as the Gas Tax fund and be it further resolved that the federal government commit in budget 2024 to the next generation of infrastructure programs, including a new program for water and wastewater infrastructure and an increase to the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund, and be it further resolved that the federal government convene provinces, territories, and municipalities to negotiate a municipal growth framework to modernize the way that municipalities are funded in order to enable Canada's long-term growth.