This enactment designates the 31st day of October as “Cities and Municipalities Day”.

Preamble

Whereas the Canadian population is growing at an unprecedented rate and becoming increasingly urban;

Whereas municipalities’ area of responsibility has increased greatly since the division of constitutional responsibilities in 1867;

Whereas municipalities are local governments that provide services essential to the daily lives of their citizens, including water distribution, road maintenance, waste management, snow removal, land-use planning, the organization of recreational activities, and various social services;

Whereas Canada’s 3,500 municipalities are at the vanguard of addressing the contemporary challenges affecting Canadians and have several strategic levers to act on these challenges, which include access to housing, climate change adaptation, infrastructure financing, cultural integration and the fight against poverty and exclusion;

Whereas municipalities, whose current financing depends disproportionately on property taxes, are significantly limited in their capacity to address the nation’s most pressing public policy challenges;

Whereas, on December 27, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly designated October 31 as World Cities Day to promote sustainable urban development policies;

And whereas the Parliament of Canada wishes to emphasize the crucial role of cities and municipalities in building fairer, more inclusive and more resilient communities;

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: