Singh recommits to being a partner to municipalities at FCM

OTTAWA – On Tuesday, in a speech to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh pledged to support municipal leaders while taking aim at Pierre Poilievre for consistently calling mayors ‘gatekeepers’ and criticizing Justin Trudeau for failing to provide needed resources.

“I believe in the power of working together, the power of solidarity. That’s why I want to work with you, not against you to make your communities better,” said Singh. “I want to give you the tools needed to better serve your constituents: to deliver a safe place to call home for everyone, to fight and prepare for the climate crisis and to improve telecoms and transit services for everyone. I know we can achieve this together.”

While New Democrats are committed to working with mayors so that we can tackle the affordability, housing and climate crises so that all families get the supports they need, the Conservatives and Liberals are working against our communities. On one hand, Pierre Poilievre is undermining the work our municipal governments do, and on the other Justin Trudeau prefers to send money to rich private sector corporations.

“I believe we can do things differently. While Justin Trudeau prefers to invest in the private sector, I want to invest in public infrastructure and give municipalities the tools and resources needed to deliver better services for you and your family. Canadians need political leaders to show up for them. If we work together, we can make the lives of people better. And when I’m Prime Minister, that’s what you will get. Someone who shows up and will be ready to do the hard work.”