Public Accounts Committee on April 29th, 2026

[Steven Robins]

There are a few places where I would point to how our projects help support affordability. One of our biggest sectors of activity is in the clean power sector, where we're financing renewable projects across the country in partnership with provincial utilities.

We partner with a provincial utility to provide a stapled financing offer, a more cost-effective way for wind turbine operators to build wind and solar facilities across the country, which they then sell into grids. That shows up directly in the electricity bills that customers pay, because the cost of the wind being supplied by these facilities is cheaper than it would otherwise be without the CIB's financing.

Another example of how we support affordability is around how we finance the expansion of rural broadband across the country. If you think about the decisions that large ISPs make, they're more than happy to run fibre in dense suburban areas, but as you get further into rural Canada, it becomes more difficult to earn a return. Low-cost financing from the CIB helps extend broadband into more remote regions of the country.

Finally, we think about how we bring clean, affordable energy to northern communities. One investment I'm proud of is our investment in the Inuvialuit energy security project, which is about creating local-source fuel in Inuvialuit on the Arctic Ocean, in the very northern part of the Northwest Territories. What that allows is to save on trucking fuel 3,000 kilometres north from Edmonton, and it results in lower fuel costs for the local community.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Will any of these projects and, perhaps, some of your greener projects overlap with some of the major projects?

[Steven Robins]

Absolutely. One example of greener projects overlapping with the Major Projects Office is the early-works investment we made in B.C.'s north coast transmission line. That's an example of a project to ensure that the expansion of B.C.'s clean electricity grid gets to northwestern B.C. It is a project the Major Projects Office has been working with us closely on.

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

What are the key differences between your 2024-25 corporate plan and the current 2026-27 corporate plan?

[Steven Robins]

The corporate plan is a critical tool for aligning the investment activities of the CIB with the priorities of the Government of Canada.

In January, we received a new statement of priorities and accountabilities that sets new long-term sector targets for the CIB and aligns our sectors with the priorities of the Government of Canada.

It established a $15-billion target for investments in the trade and transportation sector in order to expand and diversify our trade, ensuring that Canada and Canadian firms have access to global markets.

It set a $20-billion target for clean energy investments—things like the power projects I talked about, as well as investments in hydrogen, clean fuels and the expansion of electric vehicle charging across the country.

It set a $5-billion target for investments in AI and digital infrastructure.

It also set a $10-billion target for investments that support new housing development. Think about things like installing water pipes at major development sites to make sure municipal infrastructure can be built ahead of housing, or our investment in things like the REM project in Montreal, which helps connect downtown Montreal to neighbourhoods across the greater Montreal area. You're really seeing the expansion of new housing along that line.

It encouraged us to look at investments in the Arctic—we've mentioned several of those today—and increase our indigenous target to $3 billion, as my colleague Mr. Duguay mentioned.

That's the 2025-26 corporate plan tabled in Parliament earlier this month. Our 2026-27 corporate plan, which was approved just last week, reflects the shifting of the CIB's investment priorities towards the priorities of the Government of Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you very much, Mr. Robins.

Thank you, Ms. Yip.

Next, we have Mr. Lemire.

Actually, I will give every speaker a bit more time.

Mr. Lemire, you will have four minutes.

Then the official opposition will have seven minutes, and the government members will have seven minutes. You're welcome to split that among yourselves. Then we're going to end this first hour.

Mr. Lemire, you have the floor for four minutes.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to take this opportunity to respond to your comments, Mr. Robins. You mentioned that you were investing in Internet connections. I'd be curious to know if, over the past five years, you've invested in connections in Quebec.

There was the project to bring high-speed Internet to rural areas, which was funded primarily by the Quebec government and was a major success. As part of this initiative, the federal government directly transferred approximately $7 billion, if memory serves. The federal government made commitments extending through approximately 2030. This is a prime example of the federal government simply transferring funds to Quebec without conditions. This initiative was a huge success in building rural Internet connectivity. I was elected in 2019, and this was my primary campaign pledge. This initiative came to fruition thanks to the transfer of funds from Ottawa to Quebec, and it was a success.

Now that the Canada Infrastructure Bank has money for Internet connections, has any of that money gone to Quebec?

[Steven Robins]

As you pointed to, the Government of Quebec moved incredibly quickly on the expansion of rural broadband and is, in many ways, a leader in the expansion of rural broadband. This means that by the time the CIB's mandate evolved to include rural broadband, those proposals were already well advanced. There wasn't a need for additional financing from the CIB in that case. We've been prioritizing other investments in Quebec.

As you mentioned in your exchange with my colleague, there are 13 projects. By a rough count, I'm sure we're well over $2 billion, and maybe even $3 billion, in investment in Quebec. It's a much larger share, since many of our investments are large in Quebec—whether you think about the REM, the port in Contrecoeur or some significant wind project and that sort of thing.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

There is a question I feel is important to ask you, particularly in light of the testimony given here last week by the Auditor General.

You are a Crown corporation, and as a Crown corporation, you are exempt from many requirements that would otherwise require you to disclose information. Could Crown corporations be the government's new way of disengaging? No matter how many questions we may have, you're not subject to the same level of accountability.

Let's take the Canada emergency business account, for example, which was established by Export Development Canada. It did a poor job of recovering money from Canadians. The requirements aren't the same.

As for transparency regarding figures and data, would you be willing to invite the Auditor General to audit your programs and financial records? After all, public funds are your primary source of funding. In my view, this is a matter of transparency. The Auditor General cannot audit your organization in the same way she audits a government department or program. The Auditor General's mandate could be expanded, because many Crown corporations are not held accountable. Since you are considered a Crown corporation that receives public funds, I believe it is necessary for the Auditor General to have access to your books.

Do you agree with me?

[Frédéric Duguay]

For starters, I'd like to point out that the status of Crown corporations comes with very clear accountability requirements.

As Mr. Robins explained, it starts with the corporate plan. Essentially, this is the document that outlines the operating budget, which has to be approved by Treasury Board.

In addition, all Crown corporations are subject to annual audits of their financial statements as well as special reviews that take place at least every 10 years, under the Financial Administration Act.

There are also other accountability processes, such as being accountable to Canadians and Parliament through the minister and appearing at meetings like this one.

So, there is a very clear mandate—

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Unfortunately, my time is up, but I'm gathering that the answer is no.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you, Mr. Lemire.

Next, we have Mr. Stevenson for seven minutes. I understand you want to split the time with your colleague, Mr. Kuruc. I will endeavour to do that, but the weight is on your shoulders. If you're running on, I'm not going to interrupt you. You have three and a half minutes.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

What I read and what you've said.... I'm not exactly sure if I've mixed some of the numbers up here. Can you confirm that you had $54.6 billion in costs and that $18 billion is committed? Is the $18 billion included in the $89 billion that is left over, which is not part of the 11 completed projects?

[Steven Robins]

The total capital cost of the projects that CIB financed is $54.6 billion.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Is that for 108 projects?

[Steven Robins]

Yes, that's for 108 projects.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

The $18 billion is what you have already put out—

[Steven Robins]

The $18 billion is the CIB's share of the $54.6 billion. In that $54.6 billion, there is more than $18 billion from private sector investors. There were also funds from other levels of government that flow into these projects.

As an example, we made a loan to irrigation districts in Alberta, where we provided a loan and the Government of Alberta provided a grant into that project.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

In the past, the model was supposed to be that CIB funds were to be leveraging private sector funds, but it sounds like, as my colleague mentioned earlier, most of the leveraging has been with other public sector funds and contributions from other governments.

Can you clarify how much has actually been mobilized by taxpayers versus the private sector with regard to those projects? Do you have that number? You can also always get that back to us later.

[Steven Robins]

I'm happy to get that back to you, but I'm also happy to take a high-level pass at it.

I can confirm that there is more than $18 billion of private sector money included in that $54.6 billion. Furthermore, we also look to identify private sector funding of projects around infrastructure projects we create. Often, the infrastructure that we're financing is the enabling spine for economic development in a region, for example, the investment that we've made in the port of Prince Rupert. It was all about enabling smoother goods flowing from the Alberta industrial heartland to global markets. We're seeing private sector investment there being enabled by that lower cost of trade and smoother trade flows.

We did an independent study, which identified more than four dollars of private sector investment in the wider economy for every dollar that we—

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

I'm going to go on a slightly different tangent here. You talked about having a corporate plan and said that the bank is supposed to be operating at arm's length.

Can you outline the safeguards that ensure that investment decisions you guys are making are kept separate from the government's political decisions regarding lending?

[Steven Robins]

I think my colleague, Mr. Duguay, would be best positioned to answer that question.

[Frédéric Duguay]

We are an independent Crown corporation established under our own statute. We have a board of directors who are appointed by government. We operate independently from government. Our board is responsible for the oversight of the management, business and affairs of the corporation, which include making investment proposals and bringing them to the board for a decision. There is no political interference.

We are accountable, as I said earlier, to Parliament and the minister. That accountability is exercised in several ways. As was mentioned earlier in this meeting, it's exercised through the corporate planning process.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

I'm going to run out of time, so I'll pass it over my colleague here.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Mr. Kuruc, you have a good three minutes.