Anyone paying attention to the news on a cold December must have felt an extra chill to discover that Newfoundland and Labrador is currently facing an infrastructure deficit of $123 billion.
That's the figure contained in a news release from Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador:
The financial needs of municipalities and the $123 billion infrastructure deficit must be addressed in the 2008 budget said MNL President Graham Letto.
Vocm.com faithfully reported the same figure:
Municipalities are putting the pressure on government to address the 123 billion dollar infrastructure deficit in the province. MNL president Graham Letto says funding must be allocated in the 2008 Budget. Letto says government should use the surplus to pay down the debt, but the province must also take responsibility for the safety and comfort of its residents. He says covering the cost of supplying basic municipal services like water, sewer, waste management, and safe roads is the single most challenging issue facing local governments.
And why shouldn't a news organization accept at face value a statement made by the organization representing towns and cities across the province?
Well, they shouldn't when the figure is wrong.
The infrastructure deficit figure of $123 billion is actually the Canadian number. It can be found in a news release from the Federation of Municipalities, the national organization to which MNL belongs:
Statement from FCM President Gord Steeves in response to comments made yesterday by Finance Minister Flaherty regarding a municipal report on the $123-billion municipal infrastructure deficit.
That release was issued on November 23.
The real figure for Newfoundland and Labrador is buried in paragraph three of the MNL release:
A report released last month by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) found that nearly 80 percent of the Canada’s infrastructure is near collapse – $3 billion of that crumbling infrastructure is in this province.
Of course, we can likely forgive the local municipal leaders given the propensity of the current provincial administration to refer to the province as a nation.
Someone can restart a few hearts in the provincial cabinet.
-srbp-
