Infrastructure Crisis: Roads and Pipes Need Federal Help

Montreal's infrastructure crisis is impossible to ignore — and the solution isn't sitting in residents' pockets, argues Montreal Gazette columnist Norm Hanes.

The evidence is everywhere. The mayor himself got double flat tires on pockmarked roads. Vigilante residents have begun patching potholes themselves because city crews can't keep up. Broken water mains disrupt neighborhoods regularly. The backlog of deferred maintenance has become a civic emergency.

The core issue: Montreal lacks the revenue base to address infrastructure decay without crushing residents with property tax hikes. Local taxation has limits. Cities can't fund century-old water systems, crumbling asphalt, and collapsing bridges on property tax alone.

Hanes argues that infrastructure renewal requires partnership — federal and provincial funding, coordinated investment, and a shift in how Canada funds municipal infrastructure. Without it, Montreal will continue the slow spiral of band-aids and reactive repairs while streets crumble and pipes burst. The conversation needs to move beyond local government to the fiscal structures that have left cities starved for capital investment.