Duggan to feds:  Maximize Aylmer's money!

As part of its plan to kick-start the economy, the newly-elected Liberal government plans to invest $125 billion over the next ten years on infrastructure.  And Lucerne Councillor Mike Duggan has ideas on how Aylmer can get the most bang for its federal bucks.

Duggan said that he had not yet spoken with local MP Greg Fergus, but that he had a lot of input to give. “I’ve been intensely involved with this issue,” Duggan said. “We need to maximize the efficiency of the roads we have now.”

Duggan suggested encouraging carpooling with software that makes organizing a carpool as easy as hailing an Uber car.

Duggan also suggested investing in more STO buses. “We need our bus lines to reflect our needs,” Duggan said. “We need to put buses on Boulevard des Allumettières. I’ve been screaming this at the top of my lungs for years. Allumettières is a high traffic artery that goes right into Gatineau, but the citizens in my district who live near the road have to go to Rivermead instead and catch a bus from there.”

With the new Liberal budget to be tabled in the spring, Duggan feels that now is the time for Gatineau to voice its infrastructure interests to the federal government. “We had better tell the federal government soon. I’m on the outside looking in, but I have been encouraging those involved to communicate with the federal government,” Duggan said. “I’ve been urging the president of the STO to give his information to the federal government so they can budget it.”

An area of concern for Duggan is the one-third rule for federally funded infrastructure projects. Under the one-third rule, the federal government pays for a third of the cost of a major project, the province pays for a third and the municipality pays for a third. Duggan points out, however, that while the amount of cash is equal, the strain on the respective budgets is not. “As a municipality, we have a much smaller tax base to draw from for our third of a project,” Duggan said. “I don’t like the system, but we can’t say no to that money.”

Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus said, however, that the Liberal government is open to editing the formula. “Infrastructure Minister Sohi has publicly raised the possibility of the federal contribution being more flexible than its traditional formula,” Fergus said. “I am sure that all our municipal and provincial partners will like this openness.”