Infrastructure funding for municipalities was a key issue discussed among political leaders at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Conference, Portage la Prairie Mayor Irvine Ferris says.

More than 2,000 municipal officials gathered in the nation's capital June 1-4 for the annual FCM Conference. Among the resolutions passed, Portage la Prairie's Mayor highlights one kick-starting FCM lobbying efforts to urge the federal government to secure full provincial and territorial contributions towards costs in key infrastructure projects.

"Most of the infrastructure projects we do are funded by three levels of government: the city, federal government and the province is usually a partner," Ferris explains."Having that third partner, the province, is really, really important."

"This is one of the resolutions that will apply to Portage and probably every city across the country."

Ferris notes Portage la Prairie, like many other municipalities in Canada, faces challenges in maintaining an aging infrastructure, making the need for a firm three-party agreement on major projects of the utmost importance.

"You drive down the street and you'll see it ... when we've got a watermain break. It's a lot cheaper to fix it properly than to be patching," he says. "Our city has an infrastructure deficit. We're about middle of the pack, not as serious as some large cities, but we definitely have some challenges there with older pipes in the ground."