Mayor Glenn Hagel is pleased the federal government plans to continue with the two-year stimulus package started in 2009, which includes continued funding for municipal infrastructure and social housing projects across the country.
However, on Friday the mayor told the Times-Herald he was hoping to hear the feds commit to a long-term commitment towards social-housing and municipal-infrastructure spending that continues beyond the stimulus package.
Hagel said these are two issues that will continue to become more pressing over time and he believes municipalities across the country need to work together and continue lobbying for higher levels of government to provide stable funding in regards to these particular areas of concern.
Although this year’s proposed federal budget doesn’t include such continuous long-term funding commitment, Hagel said he remains hopeful the government will make such announcements in that regard.
According to the mayor, the next few years are optimal for the federal government to demonstrate its eagerness to tackle infrastructure concerns, as it considers the legacy that should accompany the nation’s 150th birthday in 2017.
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
