It's January and by now everyone knows that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't Santa Claus and, with the Canadian economy in the doldrums, doesn't have the cash for every demand and promise.
Still, there is something worth considering in Port Coquitlam's sensible suggestion that since the federal and provincial governments jointly collect 90% of taxes, they should pay for 90% of infrastructure spending. The idea PoCo is promoting is the feds ante up 50% and the province puts in 40% in line with the amount of taxes they collect.
It's crazy that cities have to typically come up with a third share for new initiatives when they only collect 8% of the taxes but that's how it has been for years.
There is some concern, however, that larger cities such as Toronto would then get all the money for their needs, leaving smaller cities shortchanged. Still, cities surely should get a better deal.
A more equitable assessment of charges for new infrastructure is long overdue.
