That would be a very accurate assessment. To reiterate, the public interest test is done first by the steward of the assets. If it were a province, municipality, or territory that would deem it to be in the public interest to build a piece of infrastructure and would like federal support from one of the vehicles, the Government of Canada, through cabinet or the ministers, can say whether it agrees that it meets the public interest and is a federal priority before it ever gets on the list of projects that the Canada infrastructure bank could consider.
On May 18th, 2017. See this statement in context.