C5 Montreal meeting concludes with city-region strategy
June 7, 2002

• Français

The Mayors of five of Canada’s hub cities; Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal (and Calgary, by telephone) concluded their third meeting of the C5 in Montreal with a strategy endorsed by them and their delegations. This meeting of the C5 followed the closing of the Montreal Summit, an historic meeting where thousands of Montrealers participated in the crafting of a new contract for the future of their city with the Government of Quebec.

Mayors Gerald Tremblay of Montreal, Mel Lastman, of Toronto, Philip Owen, of Vancouver and Glen Murray, of Winnipeg, were accompanied by delegations representing labour, academia, business, cultural, environment and social service sectors. Mayor David Bronconnier, of Calgary participated by telephone.

Since the first C5 meeting in May, 2001 to discuss the challenges and needs of Canada’s hub cities, there has been a growing realization across all regions and sectors of the country that Canada’s city regions need a new deal. Governments at each level have indicated a willingness to listen to the concerns of Canada’ city regions.

Numerous recent reports provide a consistent analysis of the urban challenge, and propose various mechanisms to address it. These include Early Warning: Will Canadian Cities Compete (Federation of Canadian Municipalities, 2001), The Toronto Dominion Bank Report on Canadian Cities (2002), Canada’s Urban Strategy (Prime Ministers Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues, 2002), C5 Report (Ideas That Mafter, Vol. 2, Number 4, 2001), Draft City Charter (Big City Mayors Caucus, FCM May, 2002) and the Contrat de Ville (City of Montreal, 2002).

The C5 Mayors and their delegations agreed:

• That they endorse the findings of the reports which compel Canada to change the ways in which its largest urban regions are empowered and financed;
• That the time has come for action by all orders of government to address the looming crisis of urban Canada;
• That strategies must be developed by the Provincial and Federal governments in consultation with municipal elected officials, and in partnership with leaders from other sectors;
• That the implementation of these actions shall be entrusted to municipal governments, the bodies most able to efficiently and effectively meet the needs of citizens;

With the support of their delegations, the CS Mayors committed to:

Meeting with the First Ministers of their respective provinces to discuss the challenges and needs of Canada’s City regions, and

Requesting that their respective First Ministers invite them to participate in the next full First Ministers meeting with the Prime Minister, which must focus on the needs of Canada’s city regions.

Specific ideas to be discussed at the First Ministers Conference to include:

• various revenue-sharing mechanisms, including a percentage of net new growth revenues;
• specific incentives and fiscal tools to address critical urban issues such as housing, transit, settlement, environment and economic development;
• new work and management methods to better meet the needs of citizens and an association based on new partnership rules for quick, flexible and effective action;
• options for enhancing the empowerment and accountability of urban regions, including the Montreal-Quebec Contrat de Ville model and the Draft City Charter (Big City Mayors Caucus, FCM, May, 2002), including mechanisms that ensure transparency and accountability of results.

The C5 was originally conceived by renowned urbanist and economist Jane Jacobs, and Toronto based businessman and philanthropist Alan Broadbent. It first met in Winnipeg in May, 2001, in Vancouver in January 2002, and now this week in Montreal.

Contact:

English media Caroline Neufeld City of Winnipeg 204-479-5280

French media Philippe Roy City of Montréal 514-772-0102

Back to Canadian Cities home