Let's talk about needs and projects. The study presents an analysis of the municipal infrastructures, which had not been done for many years, neither at the municipal level nor by the government.
It demonstrates how great the needs are. It presents the need to continue to seriously invest in municipal infrastructures to ensure they are modern and safe, while contributing to job creation, the GDP and sustainable development in Canada.
Municipalities will continue to invest significant amounts in infrastructure because the needs are so great, but now more than ever, we need the other levels of government to maintain and even increase their contribution.
However, some components of the building Canada fund have not yet been implemented in Quebec because there is no agreement between Ottawa and Quebec. Among other things, the communities component—for municipalities of 100,000 inhabitants or less—are delayed in being rolled out, so that no municipal projects can be undertaken right now.
In this context, the UMQ is reminding governments of the importance of moving forward now with the many projects that have been unduly delayed and invites them to come to an agreement quickly.
In conclusion, in the context of the federal-provincial-municipal partnership, we have taken on an important challenge in the last few years which is to rehabilitate our infrastructures in order to support our economy and build desirable places to live.
Serious efforts have been made, but we can't lose sight of all the work that still needs to be done. Let's stay the course over the long term and maintain our strong partnership.
Thank you for your attention.