Masters calls for new municipal infrastructure funding model

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said it was “pleasing” to see money for housing and infrastructure included in the federal budget, but wants to see changes to the way cities can raise money for infrastructure projects.

Ahead of the budget, the Government of Canada announced that it would provide $6 billion over 10 years to Infrastructure Canada to launch the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund in early April.

“We know we need to get more housing into the market so that we can stay in front of attainable housing demand versus trying to catch up, which is a pretty brutal place to be in,” Masters told reporters after Thursday’s executive committee.

“I think we can be really pleased with that.”

Of the $6 billion, $1 billion will be directly available to municipalities in support of “urgent infrastructure needs” that will enable more housing supply.

The remaining $5 billion goes to agreements with provinces and territories to support long-term priorities, but the money comes with numerous stipulations.

Those stipulations require provinces and territories to:

• “Legalize more housing options by adopting zoning that allows four units as-of-right and that permits more “missing middle” homes, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and small multi-unit apartments.”
• “Implement a three-year freeze on increasing development charges from April 2, 2024, levels for municipalities with a population greater than 300,000.”
• “Adopt forthcoming changes to the National Building Code to support more accessible, affordable, and climate-friendly housing options.”
• “Provide pre-approval for construction of designs included in the government’s upcoming Housing Design Catalogue.”
• “Implement measures from the forthcoming Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights and Renters’ Bill of Rights.”

Masters said the provincial-federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which was signed in 2018, wasn’t flexible.

She also said that there needs to be a more sustainable way for municipalities to raise funds for infrastructure projects.

“Fundamentally, (municipal funding) is ancient. It predates Confederation, so our only ability to raise money for the infrastructure that we hold is through property tax, and it’s simply not a feasible taxation method,” Masters said.

“The bulk of the money goes to the federal government, and then the province stands next in line through income tax, and those naturally go up as salaries go up and (employment rises).”

Masters called on the federal government to sit down with provinces, territories and municipalities and figure out an answer for more sustainable funding models.

The City of Regina is currently changing its zoning bylaws to comply with the federal housing accelerator fund, with the goal of building more than 1,100 houses by the end of 2026.

Council recently approved the second phase of bylaw changes while to trying to become eligible for $35 million in federal funding.

Premier Scott Moe said he was seeking new infrastructure funding that wasn’t tied to housing in the budget, and voiced his disappointment upon the budget’s reveal.

Moe’s government has accused Ottawa of wading into provincial affairs, and said many of its housing initiatives would be more suitable for larger urban centres than cities like Regina and Saskatoon.