The mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, asks the provincial political parties to commit to restoring tax equity between Quebec and the municipalities, so that Montreal can obtain funding “to match its responsibilities”.
Posted at 3:41 p.m.
“We have to negotiate the new tax pact in two years, but in the meantime, for Montreal, the archaic property tax model, on which we depend 70%, no longer holds, considering our growing responsibilities and the ability of Montrealers and Montrealers to pay. Montrealers”, hammered Mme Plante, Monday, at a press conference in front of Montreal City Hall. “We have set up a project on taxation, but we need money now. »
In anticipation of the upcoming provincial election campaign, the Mayor has produced a 15-page document detailing the City’s demands to provincial parties.
Mme Plante refused to specify what amount she hopes to obtain from Quebec, following the desired fiscal rebalancing.
But she noted that the government of François Legault had announced unexpected additional revenue of 4.7 billion on Monday morning.
The document prepared by her administration details several services currently offered by the City, which are however the responsibility of the Quebec government, according to her.
For example, Montreal estimates that Quebec should pay it $51 million a year to compensate for the costs of police investigation and intervention services (level 5 services) related to the metropolitan effect.
The provincial government is also being asked to fund the first responder service offered by the Montreal Fire Department, whose annual operating deficit is estimated at $12 million.
The City also wishes to obtain compensation for all the costs it assumes in terms of psychosocial intervention and health and social services.
“The next election is a key moment that should guide us towards concrete solutions that will respond effectively to the unprecedented crises that we are going through collectively,” said Valérie Plante. I am thinking of the climate crisis, the housing crisis, the increase in armed violence in our cities, and also the inflation which affects everyone’s wallet. Our administration is working on solutions to these issues, but it cannot act alone. »
The pandemic has shown that cities are often the best placed to respond to certain issues, according to the mayor, whether in terms of housing, mobility, homelessness or public safety. But they lack the means to act.
“We want clear answers to the demands of the metropolis, in particular how the Government of Quebec will support the metropolis in the fight against armed violence, how it will guarantee all Montrealers access to decent and affordable housing, and how it is going to put in place a real sustainable mobility plan in the metropolis,” added Ms.me Plant.
To discuss the joint requests of the municipalities, the mayor met on Tuesday with the president of the Union of municipalities of Quebec, Daniel Côté, mayor of Gaspé.
According to the opposition at City Hall, Mme Plante should have made more specific requests in relation to public safety, because of the shootings that are multiplying in Montreal.
“Parents are afraid to send their children to school or take their dog out for a walk,” said Abdellaq Sari, opposition public security spokesman.
According to him, it is urgent to remedy the lack of staff within the Montreal Police Department, and to equip the police with portable cameras, issues that were not addressed by the mayor at a press conference. .