The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, is calling for new sources of revenue for cities, believing that dependence on property tax is unsustainable.
• Read also: Too many construction sites in Montreal, according to the opposition
• Read also: Property values increase by 32.4% on the island of Montreal
“There were several reports on municipal taxation that ended up on the shelves. However, everyone agrees that depending on the property tax as is the case for municipalities, it is an archaic model that is completely outdated,” said Ms.me Plant Friday, during the Election Summit of the Union of Quebec Municipalities.
Last June, the City of Montreal announced the establishment of a tax project, which will aim to find solutions to allow it to diversify its sources of revenue. Currently, 63% of the city’s revenue comes from property tax.
“We have to get out of this mentality so that we don’t even have the means for our ambitions; these are responsibilities that we assume, ”said Mr.me Plant. According to her, the City would assume many bills for files falling under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, which she also recalled last August.
Tuesday, along with other Quebec mayors, Ms.me Plante asked that the government grant a fund of $10 billion over five years to municipalities to allow them to adapt their infrastructures to climate change. The mayors then indicated that they wanted a “partnership” with the next government.
“The municipalities, we are part of the solution. When we talk regarding partnership, it’s because we’re tired of begging too. We have plenty of solutions, but we still have to be considered up to who we are,” added Mayor Plante.
Foreign students: Montreal vs the regions
Valérie Plante also reiterated her opposition to the idea put forward by the government to reduce tuition fees for foreign students who go to regional universities. The mayor had already spoken out once morest the measure last August, during an event of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
“You mustn’t undress Jean to dress Jacques!” she exclaimed regarding it. “The idea of promoting the arrival of students in the regions, to the detriment of Montreal, with financial incentives, for me, that goes once morest supporting the only French-speaking metropolis in North America.”
Announced last May by the Legault government, the measure will come into effect in the fall of 2023 and will allow foreign students studying outside Greater Montreal to pay the same tuition fees as those paid by Quebec students.
“When it comes to francization, if we want our metropolis to remain francophone, strong and proud […]we have to make sure that it does not penalize the French-speaking universities of Montreal,” argued Ms.me Plante.
