Thank you, Chair.
I, too, want to weigh in on this debate and to ask questions about what the opposition is putting at risk here, and the areas that CIB is really focused on and the importance of what they're trying to accomplish. I think it's clear to all of us that the motion is meant to harm the CIB's ability to attract private and institutional investments to infrastructure projects.
The opposition has complained about the CIB allegedly not succeeding so far in crowding in enough private capital, and now they want us to use this motion to make their criticism into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I want us to understand the areas the CIB has targeted for getting more infrastructure built. These are areas where, if the opposition succeeds, Canadians will end up with less infrastructure in our country. They will be the losers, and the Canadian institutions of capital like our pension funds will continue to build projects that benefit citizens of other countries and not our own, so let's look at what the CIB is focusing on.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Canada Infrastructure Bank's $10-billion plan to invest in major infrastructure initiatives to create jobs and strengthen economic growth. The growth plan developed by the CIB is expected to create 60,000 jobs across the country. Over the next 24 to 36 months, the CIB's plan will build new infrastructure that connects more households and small businesses to high-speed Internet, strengthens Canadian agriculture and helps build a low-carbon economy. These investments will help Canadians get back to work.
One of the defining characteristics of the CIB is to invest in projects in a manner that attracts private and institutional capital, now and in the future. In this way, every dollar of public investment has maximum impact.
In delivering this plan, the CIB will also work in closer co-operation with provinces, territories, municipalities and indigenous communities across the entire country—