In the functions of the organizations, public-private partnerships are a very useful contracting tool when they're applied carefully and for the right kind of project. They can use private sector incentives to get projects built on time and on budget. That has obvious benefits.
As to their capital structure, however, P3s in Canada primarily involve financing through loans for a portion of the project costs. Those loans ultimately have to be repaid by the government, usually by the municipality that owns the infrastructure. The government heard in its consultations that there was a need to help build more infrastructure than could be paid for by the public purse. The infrastructure bank can bring an additional party for funding projects so that it does not just rest on the three levels of government. This would also free up public funding for other projects including infrastructure that would not have the required revenue streams.
In order to attract that private sector investment and do it in the way that protects the taxpayers, a new institution was needed that would have the right kind of expertise and could be the counterparty for the negotiations with the sophisticated private sector equity investors. That requires a skill set different from the functions of PPP Canada, which are focused on providing advice on structuring a procurement contract involving P3s.