Public Accounts Committee on April 29th, 2026

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

I would like to begin my remarks by stating that public infrastructure should strengthen Canadian industry, support skilled trades and keep strategic work here at home. I represent Hamilton. Our steel built this country. We have shipbuilders in Hamilton as well.

My first question is this. The Canada Infrastructure Bank dished out $8.6 million in bonuses from 2024 to 2025. The records show that 83% of its executives took a bonus, for an average of almost $200,000 per executive. With 11 projects completed in nine years, do you think that's warranted? Is that good use of taxpayer money?

[Frédéric Duguay]

That information is set out in our annual report. We are fully transparent to Canadians with respect to our compensation policies and principles in terms of how we compensate employees. That includes a base salary and a performance-based incentive plan for all of our employees. That is benchmarked to our benchmarking group—our reference market—which is generally other Crown corporations and corporations in the public and private sector. We target the 50th percentile—

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Thank you for explaining it.

My question was more along the lines of...in nine years, you guys have completed 11 projects. I don't know what the measuring stick for success is. I'm not sure if that is or isn't, but we are public accounts, so we have to take the taxpayers' money into account. That's why I asked that question.

I'll move on to another question. Were you involved in the decision by the Canada Infrastructure Bank to subsidize the construction of ferries made in China?

We have a big shipbuilder in Hamilton. I would have loved to see those jobs go to Hamilton folks. Can you table an analysis that your team did on how many Canadian workers throughout our domestic supply chain lost economic opportunity because of this decision?

Is that something you guys can do? Do you have that report?

[Frédéric Duguay]

I'll defer to Mr. Robins, who leads most of our impact work, to try to understand what is sought by the member.

[Steven Robins]

I just want to try to clarify what exactly you're looking for. I think the important principle here is that BC Ferries was responsible for the procurement decisions of where it was sourcing its ships from through an internationally competitive process. BC Ferries, I believe, has attended the transportation committee to speak to this. It made the choice of where those ferries were, on the basis of a number of different factors.

The thing I don't have, to be able to prepare that type of analysis, is an understanding of what—

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Did your bank fund it?

[Steven Robins]

We provided a loan to BC Ferries to—

[Ned Kuruc, Conservative, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

You provided a loan to a company that outsourced Canadian jobs, when we have several shipbuilders here in Canada. That's my question. You can dance around it—I don't think you are—but you funded it. Without funding, that wouldn't be possible. There are many jobs that don't get funded, but we have to protect Canadian jobs, especially in this economic downturn and especially after 11 years of a Liberal government.

I would like a report tabled by your bank exactly the way I explained it, and I will explain it again. Can you table the analysis your team did on how many Canadian workers throughout our domestic supply chain lost economic opportunity because of this decision?

Before you lend money—I was a broker and I lent a lot of money with banks—you have to look at where that money is going, and you have to look at the company you're going to invest in. I have a very big problem with you guys funding a company that outsourced and took jobs away from Hamilton and the rest of Canada and put money in the pockets of a communist Beijing government.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you, Mr. Kuruc. Your time is up.

I'm going to allow an answer. I allowed it to go a little longer, because there was an attempt from the witnesses to try to get to the bottom of what Mr. Kuruc was asking. I'm aware of that, and I'll make it up to the government members.

Mr. Robins, would you have an answer for Mr. Kuruc?

[Steven Robins]

The thing I would point to is that the $54.6 billion of infrastructure projects that we financed across the country—and that's the total capital cost—are creating significant economic opportunity in skilled trades across industry and the construction industry. We've estimated that there are more than 315,000 construction jobs supported through that.

On these projects, some of the materials and supplies do come from global suppliers. We are always excited when the project finds ways to increase the supply from Canada, but we also want to ensure that our partners are able to move forward with the project they need and the requirements they have.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Thank you.

I'm just going to tease this out a little for Mr. Kuruc.

It sounds like you don't really have the information that he is seeking, which is the impact on job losses. The information was requested, so I'm duty bound to try to get an answer from you. I just want to get an answer that best reflects the situation. It sounds like you don't have that.

If you do and you could present it to the committee, that would be appreciated.

[Steven Robins]

We have an analysis of the economic impact of the investment in BC Ferries. We don't have a comparison to another hypothetical.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Is that analysis something that you'd be prepared to table to the committee?

[Steven Robins]

Just to be clear, we don't have that analysis.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

Oh, you don't. All right, then. There you are, Mr. Kuruc.

We're now going to move on to Mr. McKinnon.

You have a good seven minutes plus, Mr. McKinnon. Do you want to take that time? Are you going to share it with any of your fellow members? If you do, that's totally up to you.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

If I start to flail, I'll pass it on to somebody.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Williamson]

All right, then. It's over to you.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I too want to talk about BC Ferries.

BC Ferries is a provincial Crown corporation. It is independent. It certainly doesn't answer to the federal government, but many of us were disappointed that they were taking their ferry contracts to China.

However, I talked to Seaspan, which is a major shipbuilder in our community. They're currently in the throes of building two joint supply ships for the navy and, I think, one or two icebreakers for the Coast Guard. They have no capacity to build it, and I think there were some issues with the RFP—timeline issues and so forth. No Canadian firms actually bid on this contract, so I think that, apart from the potential problems with the RFP process, it didn't take anything away from Canadian firms.

I'm wondering if the Canada Infrastructure Bank has any ability to incorporate in its loan mechanism, in its process for approving loans, a process whereby we can encourage to buy Canadian, where we can encourage projects, even if they're executed outside of the country, to utilize Canadian products. Is there any mechanism in the Canada Infrastructure Bank that would support that sort of undertaking?

[Frédéric Duguay]

Mr. Chair, I'll start, and then I'll turn it over to Mr. Robins.

As a Crown corporation, we did receive the directive earlier in January with respect to the buy Canadian procurement policy framework. In respect of our own procurement as a Crown corporation, the goods and services that we purchase are fully aligned with the buy Canadian procurement policy framework.

That framework doesn't extend to our investment activities with respect to the trade-offs that need to be made in making an investment and dealing with project partners and proponents in terms of the choices that they need to make and the source of the materials that they require for those projects.

We have incorporated some principles in terms of the objectives of the government's buy Canadian policy framework as part of our engagement activities with counterparties and are seeking ways to work with them to incorporate these objectives.

Maybe Mr. Robins can expand on that.

[Steven Robins]

I'll add two things.

The first is that, when proponents engage with us about their projects, the materials we share with them encourage them to take all available steps that they can take, considering the construct of the project, to find ways to use Canadian suppliers in the course of that project.

When the project comes for investment decision, we do an economic analysis of the benefits to Canadians, whether that is through economic growth, through a cleaner economy or through other outcomes that matter to Canadians. One way that proponents can maximize their score, their return, in this way, is around maximizing the benefits to the Canadian economy by sourcing locally, by delivering long-term benefits growth and those sorts of things.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Kuruc and Ms. Kusie earlier on indicated concerns about the spending that you do and whether it's bringing good value to Canada. I want to emphasize that really—and I'd like you to speak again on this—you're not spending money. You're loaning money. The money you disburse to these projects is going to come back to us with interest, presumably.

Similarly, Mr. Kuruc indicated that you've completed x number of projects. I don't think it's your job to complete any projects. Your job is to invest properly in proponents. They will be completing the projects, not you. You just have to make sure that the money you loan is going to come back.

Would you care to comment on that?

[Steven Robins]

Since 2020, we have consistently committed more than $3 billion per year to new infrastructure projects. That results in something north of eight or nine in total construction that's occurring across the country.

Now, across the country, of our 108 projects, 89 are currently in various stages of construction. What that means is that a project that we financed last year should not be completed today. However, the projects that we financed four and five years ago are the ones that are contributing to those 11 projects that are completed today, so I would point to the 89 projects that are under construction. We're confident that those, over time, over normal construction schedules, are going to convert into completed projects, and they'll enter into repayment and start paying us back.

We do a disciplined job of underwriting each and every investment to make sure that it's delivering outcomes for Canadians and that it's within our risk appetite and will be repaid over its life. That does require that the projects get completed over time. We look forward to these projects delivering benefits to Canadians, and we're confident they will.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you. I'm going to switch to your corporate plan.

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

[Steven Robins]

One of the major differences is that it aligns the investment areas of the CIB to the priority areas of the Government of Canada. The Government of Canada identifies the priority areas it would like the CIB to invest in, and then the CIB's management, under the oversight of an independent board, sources, develops and approves investments in those projects. There was a step to align the CIB's investment activities with the agenda of the Government of Canada that took place in our corporate plan that was approved in December of last year.

The second is that it reflects the announcement in budget 2025 of an increase to $45 billion in our appropriation, which is in the 2026-27 corporate plan that was approved last week. That is enabling us to make credible commitments to major projects that will be constructed over the coming decade, to provide the financing necessary to unlock those projects. Today we're at $18 billion that we've reached financial close on. There's another 10 billion dollars' worth of projects that are currently in various stages of procurement and that will reach financial close as they advance closer to construction. Those are the wind projects that I mentioned to your colleague earlier, which we're supporting in most provinces across the country.

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Okay, I think that's my time.