For us, the fact that there was support for a multi-year plan was really critical, given the size of the infrastructure this funding will provide for. Although it is very important to have the bilateral agreements—and in some cases, as you state, it may delay it a bit in some provinces—it was a critical part for us to also anchor in the support from the provincial government for our project. We clearly needed the support from both federal and provincial governments in order to proceed.
Furthermore, I think the long-term support for the mayor's vision also anchored in local support for the local share of the program. In my opinion, if it had been done piecemeal, by project, we wouldn't have had the same benefits.