• Municipal Roadway Trust: an extra $280 million per year for Alberta's roads
  
• Sharing federal fuel tax dollars would open door to lower municipal property taxes
  

EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has invited mayors in Alberta and across Canada to sign a petition in support of a Municipal Roadway Trust (MRT), which would give half of federal fuel tax dollars back to municipalities for roads and infrastructure.

During this federal election campaign, the CTF is embarking on a cross-country tour, in a campaign decorated van, of forty communities - to build support for lower gasoline taxes and its Municipal Roadway Trust - a practical model for returning half of the federal gas tax revenues directly to municipalities. The full MRT report is available at www.taxpayer.com.

The CTF van will travel through Alberta from Sunday May 30 to Wednesday June 2. CTF Federal Director John Williamson will host news conferences at gas stations in Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Vermilion and Lloydminster. A detailed itinerary will be released this Friday May 28.

In a letter to the mayors of these five cities, CTF-Alberta director John Carpay writes:

"The CTF proposes a Municipal Roadway Trust (MRT), through which the federal government would return one half of its fuel tax revenues to municipalities for roadway construction and maintenance. Municipalities would receive federal gasoline tax revenues based on their percentage of Canada's Gross Domestic Product.

This would mean $103 million per year for Calgary, $91 million per year for Edmonton, and an additional $90 million or more for Red Deer, Vermilion, Lloydminster and other Alberta municipalities. Not only would Albertans enjoy better roads, but they would pay less in municipal property taxes!"

These five mayors have been invited to attend news conferences in their cities.