Thanks for that, Mr. Brassard.
As to the construction season, we're tendering as we speak. I think tendering will begin in earnest in the next couple of months. Toronto just passed its initial vote on the budget yesterday. I think the loss of the construction season pushes you back by a full year. The easy way to do this is to have a straightforward formula. We need something that is per capita, that allows the funding to flow. We want to make shovel-smart, economically beneficial investments in transportation and infrastructure. I agree with Mr. Gupta that broadband is an excellent investment. I think you will find that cities in Ontario and across the country have long lists of things to do and would welcome any assistance.
What is very important, though, is the agreement process. This may sound like a little detail to some members of the committee, but the agreement process itself often takes a long time so that the actual economic benefits take a lot longer to realize than they should. It's not enough that the application process is straightforward; the agreement process needs to be straightforward as well. I want to emphasize that point. We can't move ahead with an incremental investment in Canada's infrastructure until there is an agreement in place.
That's why we favour the gas tax, because it's an existing mechanism that you could simply amplify.