Finance committee  I could perhaps add that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has voiced support for long-term solutions.

Finance committee  Yes, we've been extremely pleased with the last budget and also the contribution of the previous government to infrastructure. The last budget was music to our ears. I think the investments are in the right direction and in the right order of contribution.

Finance committee  The engineering design cost of a building, for example, is about 1% to 2% of the life cycle cost of the building. If you invest wisely in that 1% to 2%, you can have life cost savings that will save taxpayer dollars. There's a tendency in some governments to want to “low bid” the

Finance committee  I would say that first we need the national round table on sustainable infrastructure to be well in place, with the necessary financing for five years, before the answers come to many of the questions you raise.

Finance committee  Public-private partnerships are one of the solutions. They have their own challenges and problems, if you wish. As far as toll roads, we say toll roads if necessary, but not necessarily toll roads. As an association we see the need for investments in infrastructure, and I think w

Finance committee  Our association represents the private sector engineering companies in Canada. It's a $12-billion-a-year industry that employs about 72,000 people. Our brief today is also about what is really the backbone of any national economy, and that is infrastructure. People everywhere i