Ted Laking, the president of the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC), was in Ajax, Ont. earlier this month representing the Yukon at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board meetings.

Municipal leaders from across the country discussed a number of priorities for the federal abudget to be tabled Tuesday.

According to Statistics Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 14 per cent of municipal and water infrastructure and 12 per cent of municipal transportation infrastructure is in “poor” or “very poor” condition.

The FCM has estimated that the cost of addressing all municipal assets currently in “poor” and “very poor” condition would be more than $175 billion. The FCM and AYC are looking for the federal government to address these shortfalls.

A key recommendation is for Ottawa to permanently double the Canada Community Building Fund (CCBF; better known as the Gas Tax Fund) to $4.4 billion per year and increase the annual index from two per cent to 3.5 per cent to renew core municipal infrastructure.

The FCM is also asking Ottawa to ensure clean water for Canadians nationwide by creating a new dedicated water and wastewater infrastructure fund and investing at least $1 billion annually for the next 10 years over and above the CCBF) investment.

In just the past year, the Yukon has seen significant unexpected cost pressures associated with failing water and wastewater infrastructure, Laking noted.

He cited the Takhini trunkline, which is at risk of failure and provides wastewater service to close to 40 per cent of the City of Whitehorse.

“Increased federal and territorial investment in core municipal infrastructure is critical to supporting population growth in the North,” said Laking.

“The fact of the matter is that municipal governments simply do not have the revenue-generating tools necessary to keep up with the growing strain on our core infrastructure.

“Without renewed and greater investment by our federal and territorial partners, municipal governments across the North will face difficulty in delivering and maintaining much-needed potable water, stormwater, and wastewater infrastructure.”

Laking, who sits on FCM’s executive, also chaired a meeting of FCM’s Northern and Remote Forum.

Leaders expressed the challenges faced by northern and remote communities, and the need for significantly more federal investment in the territories and rural North.

This discussion highlighted that, in addition to the many challenges that municipal governments from across Canada face, the North faces further challenges associated with pre-existing infrastructure gaps, climate change, and vast distances separating communities.

Recognizing the unique needs of the North, the FCM has submitted recommendations to Ottawa over and above the recommendations to permanently double the CCBF and create a new dedicated water infrastructure fund.

The FCM is requesting the creation of at least $250 million annually in new funding for rural and northern infrastructure. Further, the FCM is requesting an additional special increase to the CCBF for local governments in the territories.

This approach builds on the existing “base plus per capita” formula for the territories.

“Across the Yukon, and indeed all territories, our local governments are being forced between a rock and a hard place as climate change, old infrastructure, and growing populations put further pressure on our ability to provide for our communities,” added Laking.

“The price tag to keep up with these growing challenges is huge, and without increased investment from our federal and territorial partners to support our local governments, there is a real possibility that services will suffer and taxes will go up.”

Also adopted was Laking’s resolution asking Ottawa to treat the CCBF as a municipal contribution, rather than a federal one, in calculating the maximum federal contribution to a cost-shared infrastructure project – commonly referred to as stacking.