Dozens of communities are supporting a Federation of Canadian Municipalities request to Ottawa for a minimum of $10 billion in funding for emergency operational support, including North Bay.

Council gave unanimous support to the motion on Tuesday night.

It all involves COVID-19 and challenges like reduced revenues, cost of local essential services and potential challenges with the tax base ability to pay.

Councillor Mike Anthony put the motion forward and says after doing some digging he found that the Federation is also looking for additional emergency operating funding for communities with unique financial pressures by COVID-19 that may fall outside the funding formula.

“That could mean what about a place that has an airport that has had to have these cash transfusions from the city, an airport that is the only 10,000 square foot runway, an airport that has now had it’s only daily provider pull out, would that be a special circumstance,” he says.

He also says there’s a commitment from the Federation to revisit the need for additional operating funding.

Overall Anthony says he’s been very impressed by both the Federal and Provincial governments reacting in many cases when hearing that things need fixing.

Meantime, Councillor Bill Vrebosch says upper levels of government are aware the cities and towns are being impacted directly by the pandemic.

“In my last conversation with the Minister of Municipal Affairs his statement is that he is very well aware of the situation the municipalities are in and his statement was basically the province is ready, they’re just waiting for the commitment from the feds,” he says.

 

(File photo by station staff)

Filed under: City of North Bay, COVID-19, Federation of Canadian Municipalities