Evidence of meeting #14 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was municipalities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
November 23rd, 2011 / 4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Yes, and if it's public transit, it's public transit.
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
So in the gas tax fund, as you know, municipalities--
4:10 p.m.
NDP
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Right, but Building Canada has two components.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
If it's the province that submitted a list together with the municipalities, do you accept that list, say, 90% of the time? How often do you say that there's a wrong ranking?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Under the major infrastructure component of Building Canada, which I think is what you're talking about--
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
--we negotiate with provinces and municipalities. So every province has a specified allocation and we negotiate with provinces, mostly, for what we're going to do.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Do you not think that municipalities should also be at the table when you negotiate with the province?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Municipalities are often at the table, but the allocation goes first to the province. Then the priorities are discussed within that.
4:10 p.m.
NDP
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
So how do you decide, when you negotiate with the province, which project, in your mind...? I'm thinking of the precise criteria: for example, whether a streetcar is better than buses or subways.
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications Branch, Infrastructure Canada
Generally speaking, the ones that get funded the soonest are the ones that are most ready to be funded. We get projects that come to us in different stages. Some of them are complete. They've done their engineering. They've lined up their financing. They've done their environmental assessments and they're ready to go.
At the other end, people come to us with projects that are basically what we would call “conceptual” projects. They're projects where the engineering hasn't been done. The environmental assessment hasn't been done. People haven't finished their financing.
Essentially what we do is we look at the projects that are the most viable in terms of the capacity to be implemented within the duration of our programs. Our programs have expiry dates, and some proposals that come forward to us, including transit proposals sometimes, are so large and not ready that they--
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
I do have to interrupt the proceedings now, as we have a call.
Go ahead, Mr. Richards.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB
Mr. Chair, I move that we adjourn the meeting. I feel that, by the time this vote has been completed, there would be a very limited amount of time left. I know we have public servants here today as our witnesses. The last thing I would want is to see them sitting around waiting for this committee for over an hour, when they could be using their time very valuably to serve our Canadian public.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
It's non-debatable, regrettably, because it's from the floor.
I'll put the question. All those in favour—
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
A recorded vote has been requested.
(Motion agreed to: yeas 7; nays 4)
The meeting is adjourned.