Every time we fill our gas tanks, our pockets are being picked by the federal and provincial governments. In Saskatchewan, 44 per cent of the price of gas is made up of federal and provincial taxes. Each year the Federal government collects $4.7 billion from communities across Canada, and returns a mere three per cent back to cities, towns and villages for roads.

While our governments commit highway robbery at the pumps, our municipalities struggle to make ends meet, sometimes choosing between police and fire services and fixing roads. Property taxes in Saskatchewan are the highest in Western Canada, and getting higher each year.

Our highways have turned into laughable goat paths. They say our future is wide open for business, but what kind of message does that send to people visiting our province Imagine the impression visitors have when they enter Saskatchewan from North Dakota on Highway 35, moving from pristine picturesque highway, to axle-rattling pothole-littered cart path.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), as part of it's Fifth Annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, has a set of proposals aimed at bringing relief to our municipalities and providing much-needed upgrades to our highway system. The CTF's Municipal Roadway Trust model would send 50 percent of fuel tax revenues back to municipalities, on a per capita basis, each year for the next three years. For Saskatchewan, this would mean as much as $60 million -- $12 million for Regina, $19 million for Saskatoon, and nearly $30 million for the all the other municipalities.

While the financial situation for municipalities is dire, it's important that we not be too hasty letting them off the hook. If they would stick to their core priorities, and stop running golf courses and teaching people to swim, perhaps this debate wouldn't be happening. In the meantime, in full knowledge that our municipal leaders are incapable of stopping the steady growth and mission creep of local governments, we need a new deal with legislated accountability. That means no money for bocce ball courts and park fountains.

We should be focusing on three principles as we work toward a new deal for communities. We need to treat provincial and federal gasoline taxes as a user fee, dedicate a portion of the revenue to highway and roadway construction and maintenance, and, eventually, reduce federal and provincial gasoline tax rates to levels commensurate with the actual costs of highways and roads.

Although the Canada Infrastructure Works program supported an average of $800 million of roadway and waterworks infrastructure over seven years, persistent accountability concerns about the program detract from its value. Money from that program has often gone to hockey arenas and wonky light rail transit schemes instead of to highways. In addition, programs often serve the government's political goals, rather than the priorities of taxpayers.

The CTF isn't alone is the pursuit of a fairer deal for cities. Canada's big city mayors (Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and TD Economics all point to the need for greater commitment to roadway spending.

The message is clear: Prime Minister Chretien, future Prime Minister Paul Martin, Premier Calvert - give us our money back so we can fix our roads and build new ones. Our communities need a new deal, and they need it now.