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Ottawa, June 5, 2000
2000-044
Speech to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
The Honourable Paul Martin
Minister of Finance for Canada
London, Ontario
June 5, 2000
Check against delivered.
Let me begin by saying what a pleasure it is to be here with you today at your 2000 annual conference.
The dawn of the new millennium is very much an optimistic time for Canada.
Our trade surplus is up. Our productivity numbers are on the rise. We have one of the best rates of growth of any of the major industrial countries in the world. In the first quarter of this year, real gross domestic product growth is at 4.9 per cent. And in this quarter, the first of the new millennium, our economy surpassed the one-trillion-dollar mark one year earlier than anticipated.
And on the things that touch people's lives directly, well, Canada is now creating new jobs at a near record pace. As a consequence, our unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in 19 years.
And disposable incomes are not only up, they are projected to rise even more significantly for all of the foreseeable future. Quite simply, wherever you look Canada is firing on all cylinders.
It is no coincidence that our strong economy and continued strong forecasts for growth follow on the heels of years of budgetary efforts by our government, and provincial governments, to eliminate our deficits. In balancing the books, our governments followed the lead of municipal governments.
And today I want to talk to you about something else that you have invented. A vision that would dramatically enhance the quality of life for all Canadians – a vision for sustainable communities. A vision where, again, you have taken the lead, but one in which we are all partners. Indeed, we are partners in virtually every national endeavour. And our partnership is well demonstrated by the presence of the Prime Minister and a number of cabinet ministers at your conference. The reason is obvious. We are partners in building for the country's future and in reaching the goals we have set for that future. Goals such as: first, securing Canada's position as a leader in the new economy; second, providing every Canadian with equal opportunity to succeed; and third, ensuring the best quality of life for all Canadians.
For instance, in terms of the first goal, securing Canada's position as a leader in the new economy, the Canadian government clearly has the most direct effect on key factors such as fiscal and monetary policy, taxation and overall competitiveness.
But in this era of globalization – of the single world market for goods, for services and for ideas – the role of municipalities is vital as cities in one country compete with cities a world away. Municipal leadership is key to ensuring that Canadian cities are an attractive
destination for investment and an enticing location for those highly skilled workers who drive the global economy. Quite simply, between us we must ensure that our metropolitan and mid-sized communities can grow into the great cities of the world in this new millennium.
Likewise, in this era of globalization, in smaller communities, our partnership is needed to respond to key questions such as how to maintain services in a context of shrinking rural populations and tax bases; how to encourage single-industry communities to diversify their economic base; and how to ensure that more bright young people stay home.
Second, in terms of offering Canadians equal access to opportunity, the need for cooperation is clear. While it falls to federal and provincial governments to determine the structure and strength of the social safety net, the indisputable fact is that it is communities, municipal councils, volunteer groups and active citizen engagement that are the foundation of this country's strong social programs. It is municipalities who deliver the services that so many of our social programs guarantee. It is municipal governments who are our essential partners in combatting the growing disparity between the haves and have-nots.
It was for this reason, for instance, that we ensured that within the new infrastructure program is the flexibility to fund more affordable housing in communities where it is identified as a key priority. Why? Because when my colleague Claudette Bradshaw started looking at the issue of homelessness, you told her that the best place to devise an effective strategy was at the community level.
Which takes me to our third objective, enhancing the quality of life for all Canadians.
The governments represented by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) influence the day-to-day quality of life of Canadians: whether people can commute to work in an efficient, pleasant manner; whether housing is available and affordable; whether families feel safe walking the streets; whether children have access to good care and good schools; whether the air is clean and breathable; and whether there are parks, green spaces and recreational opportunities.
This is the reason the Government of Canada announced a new infrastructure program in the budget, based very much on your "Quality of Life" proposal. The previous infrastructure program demonstrated the power of good tripartite intergovernmental cooperation. We intend for the new program to do even more, and to open a greater role for municipalities to determine infrastructure priorities. This only makes sense, since just over $2 billion of the $2.65 billion will go to municipal infrastructure.
The 21st century economy requires a backbone of sound physical infrastructure to sustain the nation's growth, to ensure the best quality of life for all Canadians and to build more sustainable communities. The new infrastructure program is an essential component of our common efforts toward these goals.
At the same time, our efforts at infrastructure renewal must be grounded by an unerring commitment to "go green as we go forward." I say this to you today not as an environmentalist at a podium, but as a finance minister in a room full of municipal leaders. And in that capacity, I would like to use the time remaining to focus my remarks on the link between environmental challenges, municipal practices and national ambitions.
If we are to move forward toward our goal of sustainable communities, we must be willing to accept a new approach. One in which economic and environmental considerations are no longer viewed as separate entities.
First off, we must sustain and restore our natural capital. What do we mean by "natural capital?" Well, obviously, it includes all of our natural resources with commercial value such as forests and fish. But it also envelops ecological systems such as watersheds and wetlands, and life-supporting ecological services such as the carbon cycle. Seen through this lens, our "human economy" is an integrated and inherent element of "nature's ecology." Our stock of "natural capital," therefore, is the basis for all of our economic activity. It is the sustainability of our communities and our quality of life. In this context, reducing our ongoing environmental deficits is simply part of managing responsibly for future generations. In the very same vein and for the very same reason, we've all moved to reduce our ongoing fiscal deficits.
Second, we will also need to use renewable energy such as solar power, wind power and biomass fuels at commercial and industrial scales.
Third, we will need to abandon the very concept of waste. This will require a fundamental shift in our thinking – away from linear models of production and closer to the example that nature sets for us.
The traditional model takes in virgin materials at one end, creates waste and emissions during production, and throws away potentially valuable materials after consumer use. But nature long ago came up with a superior design. One where all waste is reused as food or energy elsewhere. Nature's reuse and recycling of materials through a continuous or closed loop system is not radical. But it is rational. And we would do well to expand our powers of imitation.
Fourth, and finally, we will need to unlock greater results from the materials we currently consume. Many experts believe we must learn how to get 4 to 10 times more service out of every tonne of steel, every tonne of wood fibre and every litre of water than we do today. This can be done. And it will save costs as well as the environment. We just need to make a more concentrated effort.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has shown great leadership in bringing these considerations to the forefront of the public agenda. You have led the way in turning concepts of sustainability into government policy.
In the budget, we accepted your proposal to contribute $125 million for the establishment of two green municipal funds, to be managed by the FCM. Funds that will build experience and confidence in developing best practice approaches to environmental infrastructure.
Quite simply, as we roll over old infrastructure – as we restore old bricks and mortar – we want to set the standard in finding innovative and environmentally rewarding ways to deliver services. In the business world, such an approach is known as eco-efficiency. In the municipal world, it is known as just plain sensible.
But let us be clear: if new eco-efficient methods turn out less expensive than current ones, that should be counted as a blessing. Not a motivation. We all contend with bottom lines but, as we have all been so tragically reminded in recent weeks, when it comes to the management of infrastructure facilities such as water, waste or air, the imperative is and must always be to protect public health.
You know this. You know that cleaner technologies are also healthier technologies. That newer infrastructure is safer infrastructure. And you know that the public's demands for clean air, for safe, accessible and efficient transport, for increased recreation and green space, is inherently linked to concerns about quality of life. Concerns that will only grow in the years ahead. Concerns that can be answered by the adoption of practices, technologies and standards that are more ecologically sustainable, environmentally benign and – yes – economically rewarding.
The challenges before us are clear. A growing world population and a corresponding increase in the scale and intensity of activities are leading to an escalating environmental impact. Our planet's population is expected to grow to almost 9 billion in the next 50 years, and the global economy continues to expand by an estimated $1 trillion per year. Faced with this reality, how can we hope to maintain – much less diminish – the level of pressure we exert on our environment?
The answer is that we must adopt a perspective that eliminates the false and ultimately futile distinction between economic and environmental considerations. We must recognize that our future quality of life cannot be divided from today's decisions. We must draw into harmony our determination to have a stronger economy and a cleaner environment.
One key to achieving this harmony must be to recognize the synergies between environmental practice and technological innovation, where the next breakthroughs will occur. This is what Jane Jacobs has termed "co-development." And it is an important concept. For industry. For communities. And for all of us in terms of an enhanced quality of life. Not only is all of this feasible, it is irresistible. And it is occurring as we speak because it is where the richest rewards and the greatest gains are to be realized.
An outstanding example of this approach is the solar aquatics waste water treatment system invented by Canadian John Todd. It completely replaces the chemicals used in conventional waste water plants with an ecological system that uses the natural functions of bacteria, algae, plants, fish and snails to process sewage. The effluent comes out cleaner than that from conventional secondary-sewage treatment systems.
Another technology, the hydrogen fuel cell, is being tested in public transit buses in Vancouver. It can also be used in cars and in stand-alone power generators. It eliminates polluting emissions at the tailpipe, and when compared to a conventional car, cuts greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle of the hydrogen fuel supply by as much as two-thirds. Think of the implications for improved air quality in our cities, and the benefits for the health of the many thousands of children, elderly persons and others who now suffer from pollution-related respiratory illnesses.
For Canada to participate in this next industrial revolution will require every bit of the skill, knowledge, innovation and adaptability that we possess. But tremendous rewards await those nations that invent, commercialize and adopt these revolutionary new technologies, processes and services.
However, it will take much more than new technologies to secure our environmental future. It will also take profound shifts in practices, behaviour and decision making. And that is where you, as municipal governments, have taken up the vanguard.
In the audience today are representatives of municipalities who invented the blue box recycling system, making environmental stewardship the commitment of every household. You made the concepts of "reduce, reuse, and recycle" a part of everyday vocabulary. You took the early lead in committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Partners for Climate Protection program. You initiated pollution prevention sewer use bylaws. You developed world-class urban cycling networks. And you have restricted the use of cosmetic pesticides, to give just a few examples.
You have been leaders in recognizing and communicating that "the environment" is not something "out there," confined to a beautiful national park in British Columbia or the wilderness of Labrador. It is not only polar bears or black flies, not only ancient cedars, or replanted firs. The environment is where you live. Where we all live.
As municipal governments, the truth is that you shoulder the burden of promoting this vision each day. And the decisions you take will largely dictate our nation's success in transforming our communities, our country and, in the final analysis, our world.
I've spoken to you about the importance of the environment to our quality of life and about the new paradigm where environmental and economic pressures move us in a single direction, rather than opposing ones.
The Prime Minister, many of my Cabinet colleagues, and I have all referred to the need for continued partnership among our different levels of government. Partnership on the issues that are close to home for Canadians, wherever they may live. This partnership grows more important in these exciting times of change, where technology enhances the lives of Canadians in even the smallest of communities, and innovation spurs the rise of the new great cities of the world.
As municipal leaders, I know that you share my optimism that many of those great cities can and will grow right here in Canada.
This is essential to achieving our goals for the future. To lead the world in the things that count. To foster a nation that will give every Canadian – young and old – every opportunity to realize their dreams. To build a nation where not only our best and brightest want to remain, but where the freshest talents from around the globe are drawn to come.
That was the philosophy underlying the budget, a philosophy made possible through our ongoing cooperation with the provinces and municipalities.
On the eve of the 21st century, that must be our ambition – that must be the Canada we seek to build.
Thank you.
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| Last Updated: 2004-10-29 |
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