Transport committee  I can tell you that the 40% number came from a City of Hamilton report, in fact, done by the city to evaluate the implications of closed tendering within that jurisdiction.

Transport committee  Yes. I'll go back and reference that Cardus report again. In fact, the carpenters' union themselves admit that the costs in Hamilton had risen by 2%. Initially, the city found that it was 5%, and then, after the city consulted with a consultant to do a report, they reported that

Transport committee  Yes, and I think that's a pretty good example to use. The City of Hamilton has gone through the certification. They're a closed-tendering municipality. I think it's reflective of what happens in other municipalities. I believe the Essex County school board suggested that there

Transport committee  Okay, 10% to 20%.

Transport committee  It was tabled for first reading on May 16.

Transport committee  It has not been debated yet.

Transport committee  We're hopeful other parties will see this issue in the way we have, and the fact that it's about fairness and competition, of course. As we mentioned earlier, a lot of mayors and municipalities and school boards have asked for this change to occur through the LUMCO resolution in

Transport committee  I can tell you, though, the ones that have been affected to date. The City of Hamilton, of course, the City of Toronto, the Greater Essex School Board, and Sault Ste. Marie are some of the municipalities and school boards that have currently been affected. Of course, the Region o

Transport committee  Hundreds of municipalities.

Transport committee  We have identified, or I have spoken to, several large municipalities: Hamilton, Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie. I referred to the Essex school board as being one of them. On top of that would be the Region of Waterloo, if certified. So a large percentage of the construction work in O

Transport committee  In my deputation, looking at the Region of Waterloo over the past two years, I mentioned the waste water treatment infrastructure upgrades alone, which I believe were around $120 million. There were about 27 eligible bidders on that project. If these restrictions come into effect

Transport committee  Yes, I just have an example here. There was a biosolids facility built in Kitchener and there were nine eligible bidders in 2009. If these restrictive clauses come into effect, that would have been whittled down to just one eligible bidder for that project.

Transport committee  Thank you, Chair, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today about the importance of preserving open tendering for public infrastructure projects, specifically as it relates to Ontario. As your committee has heard during recent meetings, Ontario has a grow