Canada's first ministers are meeting in Ottawa to provide Prime Minister Stephen Harper with their wish list for the upcoming federal budget.
The premiers' meetings, which began Thursday afternoon and will continue on Friday, come less than two weeks before the budget is introduced on Jan. 27 -- a day that may see the government hand down as much as $30 billion in stimulus for the struggling Canadian economy.
But the premiers say they are confident there is still enough time to get their message out to the federal government.
"It really is a magnificent opportunity to influence the next federal budget and I think there's a lot of common ground," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Infrastructure spending will top the list of topics at the meetings.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said his province will match, dollar for dollar, any investments that Ottawa makes in Saskatchewan's infrastructure.
Other forms of spending will be discussed as well, including aid packages and improved support and job training services for unemployed and laid-off workers.
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer has been one of many premiers to call for more spending on job training, as a way of strengthening the Canadian economy.
"The more education we can have, the more skills we can invest in, the more people we're going to have employed," he said.
"And we think that is both a short-term benefit to our Canadian economy and a great long-term benefit to the social cohesion of this country."
The government is also considering various tax cuts as part of its upcoming budget.
According to Thursday's Globe and Mail, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may discuss a refundable home renovations tax credit at the meetings that could provide needed stimulus for Canada's building and construction industries.
It is not known whether it would be applicable for all types of renovations, or only for eco-friendly retrofitting projects.
Flaherty recently brought up the proposal at a meeting in Montreal, but the idea received mixed reviews from those who attended, the Globe reported.
As for infrastructure spending, the debate is as much about how fast projects can be approved as it is about which projects should be approved.
"We want to get those shovels in the ground sooner rather than later," McGuinty said.
"We don't want the recession to be over by the time we get infrastructure dollars spent."
Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz said while it is necessary to get projects going quickly, Canada's provinces and municipalities need to be prudent with the infrastructure project choices that they make.
"We want to work to make sure that we get shovels in the ground as soon as possible, but we also want to be strategic with the investments we make," he told CTV Newsnet on Thursday.
"We don't want to make investments that are not going to pay dividends down the road."
While most premiers appeared willing to co-operate with the federal government, Quebec Premier Jean Charest criticized the federal government for deciding to cap the rate of growth in equalization payments to so-called "have not" provinces.
Charest also accused the Tories of failing to act more strongly to revive the economy, and that too much was left on the provinces' table.
"We have done about as much as we can do in our areas of jurisdiction to support our workers, our industry and make credit accessible to businesses," Charest said of the provinces.
He said while Quebec has pledged to spend $72 billion over 10 years on infrastructure, Ottawa has anted up only $2 billion over seven years for his province.
Cities
The mayors of Canada's major municipalities also gathered in Ottawa on Thursday, one day after the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) released a list of 1,000 so-called "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects on Wednesday.
If each project were approved, they would cost $13.7 billion to implement in total. But the FCM said these same projects, if fully funded, could create more than 150,000 jobs.
Like their provincial counterparts, Canada's mayors are looking to get their projects started quickly.
"Infrastructure spending is the best tool we have to fight the recession and create jobs," Kitchener, Ont. Mayor Carl Zehr, also the chair of the Big City Mayor's Conference, said in a statement released Thursday.
"Cities are wasting no time in putting people to work on thousands of capital projects across the country. This year alone municipal capital budgets will deliver more than two per cent of the GDP."
Toronto Mayor David Miller said the money must flow "immediately."
"If you put red tape around it, it never happens," he told reporters.
The mayors say they want the premiers to model the distribution of any incoming stimulus money after the Gas Tax Fund, because it is much more efficient than other funding systems like the Building Canada Fund.
Aboriginal groups are prepared to ask for a share of the federal pie as well, including $3 billion for safe drinking water, schools and housing on reserves.
"We can build better, safer homes for First Nations, and that creates jobs for all Canadians," said Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine.
After meeting with Aboriginal leaders Thursday night, the prime minister and the premiers will gather again on Friday -- the last key consultation before the Conservatives put the final touches on their budget.
With a report from CTV's Roger Smith and files from The Canadian Press
/>
