"Bottom line -- the people of Winnipeg have a clear priority -- fix the roads, fix the streets, fix the bridges. That is a priority I will fight for . . ." those were Mayor Katz's strong words just a few short weeks ago when writing about what should be done with gas tax revenues for the City of Winnipeg. Unfortunately, his tune has changed since then.

If you haven't heard by now, someone in the federal government realized that it was nearly impossible for Canada to meet its Kyoto targets, and the so-called new deal for cities (which will finally see gas tax revenues flow to municipalities) requires all of the gas tax money be spent on "green projects." In other words, we can fix bike paths, but we cannot fix the roads. Ridiculous - yes. But just as ridiculous is the new accounting scheme that had to be cooked up at city hall.

City officials, upon approval from city council, will take Winnipeg's share of the gas tax money, about $12 million this year, and put it into one of the Kyoto friendly departments for things like sewer upgrades, transit, bike paths - anything that has been dubbed "green." Now the city's accounting department is going to have to kick it into overdrive with their creativity - the same amount of money put into any of the respective departments will now be removed and allocated for road repair.

While city hall staff deserve credit for their ingenuity in getting around the ridiculous strings the feds have attached to the gas tax sharing plan, they get a failing grade for transparency. Taxpayers need guarantees - the word of a politician isn't good enough.

This new made-in-Winnipeg accounting style falls well short of what one could call good governance, not to mention whether the money would actually flow from another department for road repair. Winnipeggers know all too well how city councilors have bent over backwards to hand out more dollars than sense for everything from fledgling play houses (read: $110,000 bailout for Pantages Theatre) to volleyball teams, so what faith can we possibly have that this money won't also be diverted to councils pet projects

Winnipeggers and all Manitobans need strong leadership on this file. When Danny Williams in Newfoundland felt his province was getting a bum deal he spoke out - and the feds listened and acted. Premier Doer should be doing the same and helping secure what is best for Winnipeg. This is what politicians are supposed to do. Doer, has been conspicuously absent from this debate and one has to wonder why he isn't standing up for our province.

To be fair, none of this creative accounting would be necessary if the federal government wasn't such a control freak and actually allowed our city to spend the money on Winnipeggers' priorities.

Katz had a lot of fight in him for the garbage debate and reducing the business tax, but that same tenacious spirit has eluded him by giving into the federal government's Kyoto scheme. With all its foolish assumptions, Kyoto will become Canada's next gun registry, gas taxes will flow to cities for feel-good projects while our highways, roads and bridges crumble. Transferring gas taxes from one black hole to another without any money going into potholes is unacceptable.

Hurricane Katrina and its destruction makes clear the need for cities to invest in infrastructure. Roads and bridges cannot be ignored without consequence. It is time politicians in Manitoba woke up and showed some leadership. This is what citizens expect, and what taxpayers deserve.