Cities Initiative Launches Stimulus Water Restoration Initiative, Needs Your Support
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative launched the Stimulus Water Restoration Initiative on Monday, July 6, 2020, calling on federal elected officials in Canada and the United States to include water restoration priorities in any upcoming economic stimulus programs.
Our key message is that our federal governments must make every effort to accelerate the pace of recovery and that the investments we are calling for will put residents to work and generate economic activity while addressing urgent needs in our communities. Specifically, the Cities Initiative is seeking investments that:
- Safeguard drinking water and modernize clean water infrastructure
- Help communities respond to coastal erosion and impacts from extreme weather events
We are asking for the following funding to be made immediately available to municipalities with no financial match requirements.
United States
- $20.5 Billion in water infrastructure and erosion mitigation project funds, which will create over 400,000 jobs.
- Local Government Revenue Replacement program. We are also asking Congress to move forward on the Local Government Revenue Replacement Program – This Fund will reimburse localities for a reduction in revenue for the 2020 calendar year. City and county governments may apply to be reimbursed for up to 75% of lost revenue compared to the previous calendar year, with a cap of 2% on the total loss in revenue that a locality will lose compared to the 2019 calendar year.
Canada
- $7 billion in water infrastructure and erosion mitigation project funds, which will create over 150,000 jobs.
- Municipal Government Funding – The Cities Initiative calls upon the Government of Canada to support Municipal Governments during the unprecedented COVID 19 economic upheaval. We are asking the Government of Canada to provide $10 billion in emergency operational funding to Municipal Governments.
This campaign requires your active engagement to be successful.
How to Take Action
The Cities Initiative asks you and your council to take the following actions to build support for investments in water infrastructure and coastal resilience:
- Complete the online survey of water infrastructure and coastal protection projects. Click Here for Survey
- Send a letter to your federal representatives.
- Ask your city council to adopt a resolution.
- Engage with fellow municipal leaders.
- Meet with your federal representative to convey your needs.
- Talk with the media.
Materials to support these actions are available on the Cities Initiative's website.
We are asking that you take immediate action on these activities because stimulus legislation is already being discussed in both Ottawa and Washington D.C. Our staff will be reaching out to our members over the next few weeks to arrange virtual meetings with federal officials. If you have any questions about this initiative please contact our Executive Director, Jonathan Altenberg at jon.altenberg@glslcities.org.