With respect to this notice of motion, I think we should get to this earlier rather than later, because of the rumours circulating, because of the regular media reports now about infrastructure being on or off, because of the unprecedented involvement of a crown minister in a particular infrastructure project. There is a lot of uncertainty in Canadian society about what's going forward and how it's going forward.
The Minister of Transport said just this morning in a speech in Gatineau at the Hilton Hotel that the federal government has no intention whatsoever of getting involved in municipal matters. It was seriously challenged by the audience and by the media as a result of a comment. I think this is causing some uncertainty.
I'd like to get a better sense. It would very much help the committee forthwith--that is the word I'm looking for--to be able to hear on these projects, these applications, because I think it would help us dispel some uncertainty in Canada.
I'm not sure about other members of the committee, but I'm also hearing from P3 proponents who are now concerned about political risk costs associated with bidding on large infrastructure projects if indeed there will be a new degree of federal involvement once contracts are signed. This is now making it more difficult for some cities even to get the consortia they want to bid on their projects. I'm thinking chiefly now of the TTC and of Vancouver, the RAV line.
So I thought those would be important reasons for us to look at this within the next two weeks and to get some better indication.