Thank you, Madam Chair.
I think there are two issues that you've identified in the reports you've done for us over the last number of months. First is that there is no plan. Your office put a request to the government, asking 32 different departments, agencies, and crown corporations for information relating to infrastructure projects. You only got back information on projects identifying half of the monies committed by the current government.
I think more evidence of a lack of a plan is the fact that the government is lapsing money at a much higher rate than the previous government. In your most recent report, you indicated that the lapse rate for legacy infrastructure programs was approximately 24%, but for new infrastructure programs it is 33%. That, to me, points to the fact that there is a lack of a plan in place.
There seems to be different information and different plans, if I can call them that, coming from the government every six months or so when it comes to infrastructure. It seems to be a constantly changing goal. Last year, we were told that the federal-territorial-provincial agreements would be completed by the end of last month. They've not happened. They're not all yet in place, so it seems that there is the lack of a plan.
I think the second problem is that they're not spending the money they've committed to.
Since 2002, as you pointed out, government have allowed money to lapse, from a range of 15% to 40%. You indicated that in your testimony. The current government knew it was an issue, and that's why they promised the following:
Near the end of the fiscal year, we will automatically transfer any uncommitted federal infrastructure funds to municipalities, through a temporary top-up of the Gas Tax Fund. This will ensure that no committed infrastructure money is allowed to lapse, but is instead always invested in our communities.
Clearly, that has not happened. There was a half-hearted attempt at it last year, which you can maybe speak to when I finish my opening comments. They transferred some money into the supplementary estimates to top up the gas tax fund. My reading of the supplementary (C)s that went through the House most recently is that there was no top-up this year to the gas tax fund, despite the fact that you've identified lapsed money.
The other comment I want to make is that lapsed money is not without consequence—and maybe you could comment on this as well. A million dollars spent on infrastructure today is going to produce far more economic benefits over the next 20 years than a million spent dollars 10 years from now, because of the wonders of compounding. Maybe you could speak to that in your as well, about the fact that lapsed dollars spent 10 years from now are less effective than a dollar spent today. That's really the heart of the issue here, that the government is simply not spending the money it has committed to.
I'll just finish by saying that that this also has consequences for the fact that millions of Canadians today are stuck in traffic. StatsCan reported last November that commuting times are getting longer in the country's metropolitan regions. In cities large and small, commuting times are getting lengthier because of the inadequate infrastructure.
Maybe you could comment on a dollar spent today vis-à-vis a dollar spent 10 years from now. Could you also comment on the fact that the supplementary (C)s clearly are not topping up the gas tax fund to deal with these lapsed funds and that the government's new infrastructure programs are lapsing at a much higher rate than the previous government's legacy programs?