Thank you, Mr. Chair. We really appreciate the invitation this morning.
I would like to start by saying that the FCM is the voice of the municipal governments. We have 2,000 members from all over Canada. Our members represent 90% of the Canadian population. So we have some perspective on what is happening in the trenches all across Canada.
We believe that this morning's question about P3s is very important in trying to find a way to better deliver services to Canadians in their communities.
As Toby mentioned, we have a municipal infrastructure forum that has many discussions about infrastructure, this being one of them. With Michael, Toby, and a few other folks around that table, you can imagine that we have some really interesting discussions.
Finally, I should say that Karen Leibovici, our president and an Edmonton councillor, sends her warm regards. She couldn't make it into town for this morning, but she asks me to send those regards on to you.
We really think that over the years we the municipalities, the government, and Parliament have started to work more closely together to find the best ways to seek solutions that improve the quality of life for Canadians, and clearly the question on the table is infrastructure and P3s.
The economic action plan was a really important opportunity to demonstrate the value of those relationships and the capacity of orders of government to work together. As you may have seen, we estimate that around 100,000 Canadians were kept in jobs as a result of that economic action plan and the work that was done on infrastructure in continuing to build the economic foundations in this country's communities.
As Michael said, this is a critical moment. We are at a period when our infrastructure is crumbling, and we are having a very dynamic conversation on what to do about it. This idea that there should be a long-term infrastructure plan is an opportunity to continue moving forward with the job of rebuilding our municipal infrastructure to ensure that Canadians have safe drinking water, shorter commutes to and from work, and the other benefits of solid infrastructure that create a more competitive and productive society on the world stage.
Clearly there's a lot at stake here. A lot of resources are required to ensure that our infrastructure is in good shape. The question on the table really is this: is there more than public money available to leverage towards those objectives? We really do believe that a key element in any new infrastructure plan is to encourage private sector involvement. P3s are a way of doing that in order to build and maintain and finance municipal infrastructure.
Of course, as has been said by my colleagues, we know you understand that P3s are not a magic bullet. In and of themselves, they will not solve the municipal infrastructure challenges in this country. This is what our partners have echoed, and this is what we've talked about at the municipal infrastructure forum with these guys and others.
However, P3s are an important instrument in a variety of infrastructure projects at the local level if we do them right. If we do it right, P3s can strengthen the implementation of a long-term infrastructure plan.
In the last few years, we have learned a few things about P3s and how to use them to deliver better services to the community. We believe that there are three very important lessons to be learned from our experience.
We think the experience to date with P3s has taught us three really important lessons.
The first is stable, secure investments. Making stable, predictable investments is the most important thing governments can do to improve our infrastructure. These investments extend the life of our infrastructure by supporting regular repair and maintenance, which is the single most important factor in keeping infrastructure costs down, but they also create the necessary conditions for P3s by providing municipalities with the secure revenue streams they need to enter into 20- or 30-year P3 contracts. On their own, short-term funding programs cannot meet the needs of public or private sector partners.
The second lesson is to make the P3 option more accessible. The current approach presents municipalities with an either-or perspective. A municipality can apply for cost-shared infrastructure dollars through something like the Building Canada fund, or it can access P3 funding. That's it: it's either-or.
Future federal infrastructure programs must ensure traditional investments and potential P3 project funding are available and delivered under a single framework. This will allow, for example, a community to apply for an application-based program like the Building Canada fund while still considering the P3 option alongside their application. If it is determined that the P3 approach is the most appropriate, then it can follow that path, but if it's not, then the municipality has other options. It has project funding opportunities through the other vehicles.
The third and final lesson is that we need investment in knowledge, support, and training.
When to use P3 models should be up to the individual municipalities, but municipalities need the information and expertise to make an informed choice and the support to manage new and complicated partnership agreements.
Costly business cases, lengthy program application processes and upfront legal fees can discourage municipalities from pursuing the option. Current P3 programs do not provide the support municipalities require to do this. Without this, increasing the use of P3s in Canada will continue to be a challenge. Support for building this capacity should be integrated into a new infrastructure plan.
In summary, there are three things. The first is to make secure, predictable, long-term infrastructure investments the cornerstone of a new long-term infrastructure plan and your P3 strategy. Second, make the P3 option more accessible by delivering P3s and non-P3 programs under a single integrated policy framework: future programs must integrate support for P3 in a design for all programs, rather than segregating it as a dedicated fund and, as I mentioned earlier, creating that either-or position that municipalities find themselves in. Finally, invest in knowledge, support, and training so that communities have the resources to cover high front-end costs and the expertise to develop and manage successful P3s.
Once again, Mr. Chair, thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to make this presentation to you this morning.