Cities Need More Than Just Money

Federal Minister of Human Resources Joe Volpe discusses much-needed changes

The Federal Government is well aware of the difficulties faced by the municipalities, but Ottawa cannot merely write cheques," said the new Minister of Human Resources, Joe Volpe, in an interview. The Liberal MP, who's also been appointed as Political Minister for Ontario, must tackle pressing requests coming from many sides and co-ordinate them within the framework of a project that will have a significant impact on the next Federal election. "Our municipalities know their problems and have the skill to solve them. They only need Ottawa to give them funds to do so," declared NDP Leader Jack Layton in a previous interview to our newspaper. Volpe, indirectly replying to Layton, said that the problems could only find solutions through a national policy.
The government, in Volpe's opinion, could finance some programs directly, thus ensuring that the money earmarked for a given sector indeed go to their intended destination.
Minister Volpe underscored that many past misunderstandings have been cleared away and that a new dialogue and collaboration among different levels of government has been established. "However, it is obvious that this takes time and that the problem is not merely about money."
His work as political minister for Ontario drains a lot of Volpe's time; many municipalities are in dire straits and expect immediate assistance from the new Federal and Provincial governments. Unfortunately, neither Queen's Park nor Ottawa seem overly eager to provide that assistance. For instance, concerning the City of Toronto's budget deficit, Volpe remarked, "I'm sure the mayor and the councillors will find solutions and won't wait for Federal ministers to give them advice. In regards to money, even if we wanted to I don't think we could give it, as it wouldn't be the right thing to do from an institutional standpoint."
In summary, much remains to be negotiated between Ottawa and the municipalities if they want to avoid going back to the tense relations that characterized the previous administrations.
In his interview, Hon. Volpe also talked about the Ministry of Human Resources. As the events of recent years have proven, this is not the easiest Ministry to manage. "Of course we have no lack of difficulties," specified Volpe, "but with the reforms already underway I trust we shall make important progress."
The Ministry manages a huge budget, to the tune of $22 billion, to be used for vocational training and labour force valorization programmes. In particular, Volpe intends to make adequate use of available skills and experience, i.e. when immigrants holding university degrees work as butchers or cab drivers. "We shall work in concert with the Provinces, tearing down the barriers hampering our economic and social development."
Volpe wants to make sure that Canadian economy gets the manpower it needs, both in quality and quantity. To this end, he will work in close contact with other Ministries, beginning with Immigration. "We hope to be able," Volpe said, "to supply our labour market with citizens that can integrate with the new economy, avoiding waste of personal talent that would harm us all."
Volpe highlighted that the employment rate is at 67.8 percent. "This is very high indeed, considering that all citizens between 15 and 64 years of age are included."
Clear ideas and ambitious programmes abound, but their implementation takes time. In the coming months, Minister Volpe will give additional details. The best opportunity to do so will come in a few months' time, when PM Martin will most likely call for an election.
May is increasingly rumoured to be the date.

Publication Date: 2004-01-25
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3577