RC104 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 10
LEADERSHIP
“Sustainable procurement is
important; if we don’t do it right
the first time, it’s a retrofit
before it has even started.”
FCM’s president Taneen Rudyk
also serves as a councillor for the
Town of Vegreville, Alta., home to
the Vegreville egg, the world’s second
largest pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg).
What are the key municipal infrastructure issues
that need more attention moving forward?
Our towns and cities are growing quickly
and that’s a good thing, but infrastructure
is having a tough time keeping up with
that. We don’t have enough affordable
and high-density housing to keep up with
demand so as a result we’re facing a housing crisis that has been generations in the
making. And that’s happening while our
public transit systems aren’t developing fast
enough to be able to connect people to the
places that they need to get to, leaving roads
congested and compromising our environment. Municipal hubs and communities centre and libraries are often small and old and
can’t keep up to rising demand. Also, it’s a
big country and we have several people in
remote and rural areas and they need to be
more connected. We need consistent sources
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of core funding for all of that. Investing in
infrastructure is more than just the roads and
the buildings, it’s the foundation on which
every Canadian is built and how economy
functions. And we need to get on that path
to net zero.
We need to be more intentional in a
number of different ways. So, we’ve been
very active in our advocacy to the federal
government with regard to key focus areas
for infrastructure: we want a doubling of the
Canada Community Building Fund; better
climate resilience through $2 billion for
climate mitigation and $1 billion annually
for next 10 years to keep up with flood, fire
and drought; an investment of $1 billion
annually for next 10 years municipal waste
and water infrastructure; and some key design considerations for a permanent public
transit fund.
We’re at a critical time right now. A lot of
these critical funding pockets are coming
to an end. There are fissures in the system
so when we’re at the table we need to solve
these problems in an intentional way.
How could the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) have a
greater impact, especially when it comes to critically needed climate adaptation?
The FCM GMF is doing incredible work
and it continually assesses the needs of the
federal government. We continue to find different ways to do what we do better. We’re
currently limited under the negotiations of
this agreement and we’re always looking to
evolve so we can deliver the biggest impact.
Sustainable procurement is important; if we
don’t do it right the first time, it’s a retrofit
before it’s even started.
It’s also important to undertake capacity
building and make these funds more accessible for smaller communities. Our municipal
asset management program manages the
data and can advise on how to move forward. One size doesn’t fit all and it’s important to support the creativity and ingenuity of
the various communities.
Any final thoughts?
There’s nothing permanent in politics except
change. It’s a really important time for municipal government. It’s through challenge
that we find opportunity and at this precipice when people are feeling disheartened
and disengaged, we offer an opportunity to
be able to feel empowered and connected
once again. I’m so proud of the work that
we’ve been able to accomplish during the
pandemic. In the next few years, it will be
incredibly important that we get these conversations right and the only way we can do
that is by having multiple voices involved.
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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Our organization has been around for
over 100 years, but we are evolving and
demonstrating that we can show leadership.
It’s challenging because many of our members are small, and they have a handful of
staff. We can only use the board that is elected so we need to encourage levers of powers
to be accessed by a number of players. We’re
not there yet, but we’re working to have
multiple voices included around the table.
