Bokhari vows one per cent of PST to municipalities for infrastructure

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This article was published 29/03/2016 (3486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Liberal government would permanently hand over one point of the eight per cent provincial sales tax to municipalities to spend on infrastructure as they wish, leader Rana Bokhari promised Tuesday.

She said the plan would continue even after the Liberals roll back the PST to seven per cent in 2023.

Under a Liberal government, Winnipeg would get at least $155 million a year, Bokhari said.

“It’s predictable, it’s long-term,” said the Liberal leader, adding municipalities would share the money on a per capita basis. “In Winnipeg, they would have had dollars to fix their roads.”

Bokhari said the money would continue past 2023, with improved general revenues covering the loss of one point coming off the PST and going to municipalities.

“I define infrastructure as social infrastructure as well — community centres, rinks,” Bokhari said Tuesday during an event in the city hall courtyard. “This is specifically for their own priorities.”

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman was delighted to hear Bokhari’s promise — more so when he heard it would come without restrictions on how municipalities choose to spend the money.

“It’s obviously very welcomed,” Bowman told reporters. “It will go a long way toward fixing the infrastructure deficit we’ve inherited. Winnipeggers should look very carefully at this commitment.”

Bowman challenged the NDP and Conservatives to match the Liberals’ deal.

“There’s lots of time for the other parties to meet or exceed this commitment,” the mayor said of the April 19 provincial election.

Bowman noted that while Bokhari left the definition of infrastructure up to municipalities, “Our focus is on roads. Our focus would be on infrastructure — it’s where we’ve inherited over $7 billion in infrastructure deficits.”

Bowman said he would prefer to see the proposed new money spent throughout the city but wouldn’t rule out council’s deciding to use it for major projects.

Bokhari said the one point of PST, currently hovering around $300 million a year, would grow in dollars thanks to the Liberals’ “commitment to economic growth and fiscal discipline.”

That’s why it wouldn’t be a hardship for the Liberals to cut the PST to seven per cent in 2023, she said. “We will be making enough to do it.”

Bokhari would not say Tuesday whether a Liberal government would offer municipalities any other form of tax revenue or ways to generate revenue. “I’m not there yet,” she said.

She was careful to emphasize the one point in PST would be in addition to money municipalities already receive from the province. “Whatever is currently there (stays) there.”

Nevertheless, the NDP accused Bokhari of promising the municipalities cuts disguised as an increase. The New Democrats argued Monday their package would be far more generous.

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“The Bokhari Liberals haven’t thought their funding plan to municipalities through,” the NDP said in a news release. “They seem to be unaware that what they are proposing actually represents a cut from our commitment — we already give more funding to municipalities than what they’ve promised. In fact, for Winnipeg alone, this year, we provided $322.8 million in funding to support critical services and improve infrastructure in Winnipeg. That’s an increase of $8.8 million this year alone.

“Moving forward, our ‘new partnership’ will result in a new additional investment of nearly $400 million in infrastructure for Winnipeg over the next five years. This will be an enhanced and flexible partnership totalling $1 billion over five years for critical infrastructure, including roads, public transit, waste-water treatment plants and recreation centres.”

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister told reporters Tuesday to stay tuned for a “really exciting” announcement from his party this week about funding for municipalities.

— with files from Aldo Santin and Kristin Annable

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca