Mental health, housing, infrastructure, and the long-term financial sustainability of local governments.
These are front-and-centre issues municipal leaders in Yukon and across the country hope have been pushed up the priority list for the federal government in the wake of the recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference.
In late May, a delegation from the Yukon joined another 2,000 delegates at the conference in Toronto to share the concerns of their communities.
“This was a great opportunity for municipal representatives to discuss their shared challenges such as the growing need for a new fiscal relationship between municipal governments and the provinces, territories and federal government,” Association of Yukon Communities president Ted Laking said in a statement.
Membership passed three resolutions during the conference, regarding these issues.
One calls on the federal government to acknowledge mental health as a national emergency, with plans to make it an important part of Canada’s healthcare system.
The next resolution urges federal government to provide long-term funding for local governments to combat homelessness, and asks for support from federal government with local efforts like the Rapid Housing Initiative and Reaching Home.
The third resolution declares that Canada needs a fiscal framework for municipalities that links population growth and economic growth.
The federation has been the national voice of municipal government since 1901. The members represent more than 90 per cent of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Municipal leaders from across Canada assemble each year to set federation policy on key issues.
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