Thank you.
Thank you very much for inviting me.
I'd like to say at the outset that I welcomed this government's promise in the election and in ministerial mandate letters to establish the Canada infrastructure bank to provide low-cost financing for new municipal infrastructure projects.
I also strongly welcomed the promise to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in government and the promise to stand up for and strengthen the middle class and those working hard to join it.
I was very happy to hear the Prime Minister say that they'd end the undemocratic practice of using omnibus bills to prevent Parliament from properly reviewing and debating proposals. This is why I and others, I think, are so disappointed in these plans for the infrastructure bank in Bill C-44. They represent broken promise after broken promise.
Right from the outset, it won't provide low-cost financing for municipalities. That was the promise in the election campaign and in the ministerial mandate letters. Instead, the priority has shifted to leveraging higher-cost private sector capital. In a recent report that I wrote, I demonstrated how the higher cost of private sector finance could mean that these projects could cost twice as much. No one has disputed those figures. In fact, people have said that the rate of return on the private sector side is larger than that. This means we'll get half as much bang for our buck in terms of infrastructure—less infrastructure, not more.
The bank won't be open, transparent, or accountable to Canadians. The federal Auditor General has limited power to review the operations of crown corporations, less than direct public projects. This legislation also threatens anyone who discloses information about projects relating to proponents with a $10,000 fine and six months in jail. Investments are supposed to be in the public interest, but the legislation bars officials from being on the board.
It won't help strengthen the middle class and those working hard to join it. Yes, jobs will be created from infrastructure investments, but many more could be created if the money were to go to construction and employment and not to higher financing costs. Higher user fees associated with these projects will hurt middle and working classes the most. They'll also be bad for the economy, taking money away from other spending.
The bank was designed—as we'll find out—by a small, privileged group of financiers who stand to benefit the most from it, including BlackRock Inc., the biggest asset manager in the world, which recently hired top civil servants. As others have said, if this isn't a conflict of interest, I don't know what is. The infrastructure minister and the Prime Minister say they consulted with unions and others, but we know the design for this came from the finance minister's economic advisory council, which is dominated by CEOs.
And it's included in the budget omnibus bill.
Another concern is that the bank also won't help with the type of comprehensive national infrastructure planning that we need. Instead, private interests that dominate it will focus on what will maximize their private profits. Allowing it to entertain unsolicited proposals will mean that they'll also cherry-pick public assets to privatize for the greatest profit. It will result in a patchwork of privatized projects, driven by no other logic than private profiteering off public infrastructure. The initial $35 billion in federal public funding would just pave the way for this.
Now, I was very surprised to hear the finance minister say yesterday that cabinet would approve projects, because from my reading of the legislation—and I think that of most others—that's not the case.
Instead, the government should do what they promised and what Canadians voted for. It should establish a public infrastructure bank that provides low-cost financing—and that means public financing—for new municipal infrastructure projects. There's no shortage of financing available for the Government of Canada to borrow at low interest rates. Also, if this were done through a public bank and lending institution, such as the Business Development Bank of Canada, CMHC, or EDC, then its investments and borrowing wouldn't need to increase the deficit or net debt any more than the current proposal would.
Number two, it should also ensure much stronger accountability, transparency, and review by auditors general over the bank and its projects. It should provide full public disclosure of all details in business cases, value-for-money assessments, and contracts. It should also have public officials on the board so that it acts in the public interest. We should ensure that public infrastructure projects remain public and aren't secret deals.
You should also establish a public and transparent process, using evidence-based analysis for truly objective project planning of what should be the priority public infrastructure projects across the country. We should use this type of proposal to engage in truly sensible national infrastructure planning.
Thank you very much.