Demanding a "new deal" that will give more decision-making powers and wealth, the mayors of Montreal and Quebec City called on provincial leaders Wednesday to grant their municipalities special status as a metropolis and a capital city.

The formal recognition, enshrined in law, would give the cities greater autonomy to decide how money is budgeted for infrastructure projects, economic development and social issues like homelessness and socialized housing. It would give them latitude to make more changes without making a formal request to Quebec. Montreal is also requesting a seat on the board of directors of Hydro-Québec.

In an era when large municipalities are attaining "city-state" status to compete against their urban confreres in the global marketplace, Montreal and Quebec City are falling behind because they lack a similar designation, the mayors argued.

"I don't understand why our destiny should be controlled by the government in Quebec City or in Ottawa," Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said. "I don't understand why civil servants who are completely detached from the Montreal reality should make all the decisions for us. As a true metropolis, Montreal should have the autonomy to decide where it should spend its money."

Coderre and Quebec City's Régis Labeaume presented the 32-page document "A new pact for the large cities of Quebec" at Montreal's city hall Wednesday. They were joined by Peter Trent, mayor of Westmount and president of the Association of Suburban Municipalities of the island of Montreal, and Ste-Julie Mayor Suzanne Roy, next in line to head the Union of Quebec Municipalities.

"The Montreal region represents 50 per cent of the population of Quebec and generates 50 per cent of its gross domestic product," Labeaume said. "We in Quebec City want a strong and healthy city of Montreal that attains the wealth it is capable of generating. ... We can no longer suffocate under the accumulation of rules and laws that means Quebec bureaucrats often have more power than the mayors of Montreal and Quebec."

Quebec wants all cities to be treated equally, Labeaume said, a concept that is obsolete and hampers a global metropolis like Montreal that has taken on greater responsibilities over the decades but has not received the tools to tackle them. He noted, however, that their request goes against the human nature of elected officials or bureaucrats to give up power.

A key part of the special status designation would allow the cities to generate revenue through sources other than property taxes, Coderre said.

"Toronto gets 32 per cent of revenues through property taxes. In Montreal it's 70 per cent."

The mayors promised they were not looking to increase taxes, but rather to find other sources of revenue and distribute it more efficiently.

Coderre noted how Montreal's limited say in local projects like the Champlain Bridge, Turcot Interchange or access to the McGill superhospital via Vendôme métro station has hurt the city.

Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard said he is all for a special status for Montreal as the province's metropolis, and for Quebec City as capital "along with all that implies in terms of legality and means."



Michelle Lalonde of The Gazette contributed to this report.



rbruemmer@montrealgazette.com



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