Thank you, Madam Chair.
I thank the witnesses for their testimony, and I have questions for each of them.
First, I'd like to say that we are here because the Parliamentary Budget Officer published two reports criticizing government infrastructure programs.
One of the criticisms is that a quarter of the money has been allowed to lapse in the last several years since the government was appointed in November 2015. The reason this lapsed money is such an issue, even though the government has committed to “re-profiling” the investments for future years, is that they promised something very different. I quote from page 14 of their platform:
We will make sure that no money intended for investment in communities is allowed to lapse. ... 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 hasn't happened. Regardless what you think of whether the lapsed money should be re-profiled rather than automatically transferred into the gas tax fund, the point is that there was a commitment made in the last election. Millions of Canadians voted based on that commitment, and that commitment has not been upheld.
The second criticism that the PBO has given with respect to the government's infrastructure programs is that there are not enough details. This is one of the largest measures of the government: some $180 billion over roughly the next 10 years. The PBO doesn't believe there is sufficient detail from the government as to what the plans are for disbursement of this money. That's why we're here today. That's why the committee is studying this issue. We're interested in hearing your comments on it.
The other thing on which we're interested in hearing your comments is in respect of rural, remote, and northern communities. Pat Vanini mentioned in her opening testimony that there are about 440 municipalities in the province of Ontario.
You mentioned that, for the vast majority of these municipalities, a 43% plurality of these municipalities, there are fewer than six full-time municipal staff, and just over a third of them have fewer than 14 full-time municipal staff. It's a challenge for these municipalities in applying to federal programs for these grants.
I'd be interested in hearing your views on an enhancement to the gas tax, how that plays with respect to these rural and remote communities, and your comments on the money being lapsed and lack of details on what is one of the government's largest spending measures.