Transport Committee on Oct. 21st, 2010

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

--or less.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

In relation to the blues from last time and the FCM, I'll wait until Monsieur Guimond is back. I just found the information.

I was wondering in particular if the department has been working with the municipalities, that you're aware of, to keep track of what's going on, and also to re-scope projects and reanalyze projects. Has the government been working with the municipalities in Manitoba to do that?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay.

Are they doing so on a continuous basis or was it a one-off situation, if you're aware of that?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

No, it's on a continuous basis.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Are your municipalities and the province cooperating fully to try to get these projects done on time?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay. What percentage of projects would you say are finished up to date?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

I'd say a good 95% of them are getting done or are very close.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

About 14% are actually completed already. Is it fair to say that?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay. In fact, somewhere in the neighbourhood of almost 80% will be completed by December 31. Is that fair to say?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes, that's fair to say.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Okay. Then we're talking about two or three projects out of quite a few.

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Is there anything else that we as a government can do to help move these projects forward, to help re-scope them? In essence we're talking about fewer than 5% of the projects in Manitoba. It's not an arbitrary deadline; it's a fiscal year-end deadline, and that's why it's there, obviously. Does it seem reasonable to move a deadline six months for fewer than 5% of the projects?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

If you had asked me that question a month ago, I would have said no, but fortunately we've had the weather to get these done. If we hadn't, it would be a totally different story in Manitoba.

You're just taking a snapshot of today. You have to take a snapshot right across this country, because it involves everyone, and everyone's at a different stage because of weather and things like that. I think you have to look at the big picture.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

It's fair to say as well that we have six months left. It's a two-year stimulus plan; we still have 25% left, and that 25% is the project completion portion of it. Is that fair to say?

[Doug Dobrowolski]

Yes.

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Seeing no further questions, I will thank our guests for being here today.

I had the opportunity recently to attend an event with the AMM. Having a history as a municipal councillor and a provincial MLA as well, I would suggest that the municipalities don't get the credit they deserve for making these things happen.

We get the names on the signs, but you guys do all the work, so thank you very much.

We're going to take a recess of about five minutes to get the video set up.

For members, we have lunch at the back.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Thank you. Welcome back. We appreciate your patience.

Joining us this afternoon for the second hour, from the Union of Quebec Municipalities, is Mr. Gilles Vaillancourt, member of the executive committee, president of the commission on fiscality and local finances, and mayor of the City of Laval. Joining him at the table is Mr. Joël Bélanger, policy adviser.

Joining us through video conference, from the Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités, is Mr. Bernard Généreux, president.

Bienvenue.

I know you've been here before, so we'll ask for your presentation and then we'll move right to questions.

Thank you.

[Gilles Vaillancourt, Member of the Executive Committee, President of the Commission on Fiscality and Local Finances and Mayor of the City of Laval, Union of Quebec Municipalities]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Deputy Chair, and members.

The Union of Quebec Municipalities was eager to accept the invitation to participate, again, in the work of the parliamentary committee on the impact of the deadline of March 31, 2011, for completion of infrastructure stimulus projects.

In my presentation to you in June, I cautioned the members of your committee about the various problems associated with keeping the March 31, 2011, deadline for Quebec municipalities.

Today, I can confirm that the fears expressed by the UQM in June were valid. If the government does not allow some flexibility on the deadline, many municipalities will be penalized and some projects will be jeopardized.

The mission of the UQM is to promote the fundamental role of municipalities in social and economic progress in every part of Quebec and to support its members in building democratic, innovative and competitive communities.

The UQM has recognized the importance of the government's economic action plan, and the investments and infrastructure that have made it possible to catch up on the municipal infrastructure deficit, estimated at over $18 billion in 2003.

This issue has been a priority for the Union of Municipalities for several years. In light of the sixth economic report tabled by the Minister of Finance, the hon. Jim Flaherty, in September 2010, it is obvious that Canada's Economic Action Plan has benefited the economy and infrastructure.

It must be pointed out, however, as the ministers of the Government of Canada have noted on several occasions, that if municipalities had not acted quickly to get a number of infrastructure projects underway, the effects of the economic crisis would have been much more serious.

For economic stimulus measures alone, the municipalities of Quebec have undertaken nearly 1,000 projects, representing investments approaching a billion dollars. The municipalities' contribution to the success of the program is undeniable.

The municipalities where there when the plan was implemented. Today, they hope the Government of Canada will be there for them, by agreeing to their request for greater flexibility.

In a nutshell, we hope that the partnership that has started out so well will be able to continue on a congenial basis.

We must not be too impressed by the recent economic report that paints an extremely optimistic picture of the implementation of the economic action plan. The report states that 97% of the work begun under the action plan is underway or has been completed.

The picture is very different in Quebec, however. According to the figures collected by the ministère des Affaires municipales, as of August 30, only 38% of the work had been started and no funds in the funding envelopes had yet been refunded to the municipalities.

Under PRECO, 70% of the projects said to be at risk are at risk because of time shortages, since the second layer of asphalt has to be laid in two separate steps based on the freeze and thaw periods.

In fact, this is the main problem the city of Laval is facing, where some 15 projects will not meet the deadline, representing losses of several million dollars for the municipality.

After broad consultations with its members, the Union of Municipalities can confirm that the situation of Laval is not an isolated case, since the results of the survey show the same thing more or less everywhere in Quebec. The initial results show that more than 80 projects in some 40 municipalities are at risk of being completed after the deadline, thus jeopardizing an investment of a little over $100 million in works.

The municipalities of Quebec are working hard to complete their projects, but they must not be penalized if they can't finish on time, for several reasons.

First, they have had delays caused by the lengthy negotiations between the governments of Canada and Quebec. Of the four Canada-Quebec framework agreements, two were signed as late as the end of January 2010, nearly a year after the economic action plan was adopted. That means that once the legal process for awarding contracts was completed, there were only a few months left for the municipalities to complete all of their projects.

Second, the municipalities are dealing with the heated construction industry, and this is exacerbated by the imposition of this deadline. It means that in some regions of Quebec, contractors are experiencing shortages of materials. In the Montreal metropolitan region, manhole covers are starting to be in short supply. Across Quebec, there is a shortage of temporary water supply pipes. Municipalities are victims of the shortages and are having to use other materials and other methods, and to absorb the extra costs and delays. This is the case in Beauharnois, for example.

Elsewhere, municipalities are suffering because contractors' order books are full and they sometimes have to issue new tender invitations because they haven't received bids on their projects. This is the case in Roberval, for example, which has had to deal with the lowest bidder in the first tender invitation withdrawing because it was overloaded and could not meet the deadline. Roberval was forced to issue a new tender invitation and it is now facing the fact that this time it has received no bids.

It is important to point out that PRECO, which is intended to rehabilitate water infrastructure, is a program unique to Quebec. It is therefore to be expected that these situations will arise only in Quebec. Adding a deadline has only exacerbated these problems.

Last, we would note that harsh winters reduce the period when road work can be done by several months more or less everywhere in Canada, of course, but we have no relief from this at all in Quebec.

The Union of Quebec Municipalities is bringing a message from its members today, municipalities of all sizes in all regions of Quebec, representing five million Quebeckers. The Union of Quebec Municipalities is asking Mr. Flaherty, who said the government of Canada would be "fair and reasonable", for a much firmer commitment, to reassure Quebec municipalities.

The Government of Quebec has committed to continuing its financial contribution beyond March 31, 2011. In addition, the National Assembly has passed a motion supporting the municipalities' request in this matter. The Union hopes that these actions will inspire the Government of Canada.

In closing, the Union of Quebec Municipalities reiterates its request that the federal government allow municipalities that have already started their projects to complete them after the March 31 deadline and still receive the financial contribution the Government of Canada had promised. The Union believes this is a reasonable request, given the situations and the circumstances in which it is made. A positive response will help to consolidate the economic recovery in Quebec and Canada and will benefit all Canadians.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you for your attention, gentlemen.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Thank you, Monsieur Vaillancourt.

Monsieur Généreux, please proceed.