Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Dahlby, for your intervention. However, my questions are for Mr. Bartlett.
Mr. Bartlett, as you know, the government recently announced the creation of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, in which it will invest $35 billion in public funds. This investment bank will have the primary objective of generating huge profits for the private sector.
I represent a riding that includes 25 municipalities with populations between 500 and 56,000. The criteria that have been established for this bank with respect to the size of the projects and the rate of return, in particular, do not correspond to the reality of my riding. I think that's also the case for most rural ridings. However, in the NDP, we believe that the public funds invested must have repercussions on all sectors of the economy and create good jobs.
We also believe that by funding infrastructure projects itself, the government would have reduced costs for future generations through lower interest rates than the bank, which would have limited the risks. This is all the more obvious in the case of Australia, where a bank of this kind has been created over the last 20 years, and the results have been catastrophic. According to Rod Sims, president of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australians are still paying the price. Their economy has suffered a hard blow.
As an economist, what do you think about this model to privatize infrastructures, which will be expensive for Canadians but will benefit the private sector?