The role of Quebec municipalities has changed over the last 30 years. They have become more present in the lives of citizens, they have more responsibilities and their residents turn more often to the various local services offered to them. However, an important variable is missing to balance this new state of affairs: financing. Quebec does not seem ready to provide tools adapted to cities to fulfill their new responsibilities.
This is the observation made by the former mayor of Gatineau and contributor to these pages, Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin, in the essay Liberate the cities – For a reform of the municipal world, published by XYZ last month. A 136-page booklet that can be read in one go, like its sections.
We saw it recently in a report from The Press in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, on the Côte-du-Sud, which is considering different avenues for grouping together with other municipalities in the region to better face different challenges1.
The author takes note of the arrival in power of a new cohort of mayors – in Sherbrooke, Laval, Longueuil and Quebec, among others – and promotes their approach and their dynamism. In passing, he excoriates the civil service bureaucrats and municipal elected officials who are only following the movement set in motion by the general management of these cities. He attributes to these elected officials the unflattering term “aldermen” in opposition to the term “municipal councilors”.
These new mayors are struggling with the chronic lack of funding for cities as well as the democratic deficit linked to the lack of citizen participation. Mr. Pedneaud-Jobin therefore calls for the creation of real municipal political parties and demonstrates that debates within the parties which form both the power and the opposition are crucial to better defend and organize the dynamic between cities and the government. of Quebec. A party life would also, according to him, prevent the mayoral races from being nothing more than a popularity contest between two well-known personalities, but devoid of a real program.
The author cites the example of Jean-Paul L’Allier, mayor of Quebec from 1989 to 2005, who always explained that his achievements in the Saint-Roch district and elsewhere were the fruit of reflections coming from his party, the Rassemblement populaire . A party which had put in place a charter of dissent, allowing elected officials to differ in opinion on local issues. Pedneaud-Jobin, in a rare reminder of his years as mayor, said that Action Gatineau, his party, was inspired by the operating rules of the Rassemblement populaire de Québec to break the rules of the party line.
Broken taxation: the 58/8 rule
As we have seen, cities offer multiple services: libraries, multi-sport centers and performance halls in addition to water networks and garbage collection. The author estimates that cities thus inherit the maintenance of 58% of public infrastructure while only collecting 8% of taxes.
The former mayor of Gatineau insists: cities cannot fall back on the property tax in its current form. The fact that property taxes increase based on the market value of buildings creates distortions among those whose income does not grow at the same rate as their properties, in addition to encouraging urban sprawl rather than densification. According to him, the current system is at the heart of the inequities and problems that are slowing down the momentum of municipalities.
If the subject is aimed at a limited audience, this book, whose title sums it all up, details the importance of municipal life in society. A small pamphlet which unpacks point by point what could become the outline of general rules to follow for all people and associations who wish to enter municipal politics. The lazy reader will find in the conclusion a summary of the former mayor’s positions in a concise form, which is reminiscent of certain press releases.
Extract
Municipalities therefore manage 58% of current public infrastructure and they receive 8% of the revenue paid in taxes by citizens, all governments combined. This is strong: they therefore have 58% of the problem to manage and 8% of the financial resources available. It’s a fundamental imbalance that impacts the state of our streets, our libraries and everything else.
Who is Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin?
Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin was mayor of Gatineau from 2013 to 2021, after a mandate as municipal councilor from 2009 to 2013. He now regularly collaborates with The Press. Liberate the cities is his second essay after the publication, in 2021, of Moving from town to city – Making way for citizen participation. He previously worked in the health network and with social economy initiatives.
Liberate the cities – For a reform of the municipal world
X Y Z
136 pages