Mr. Chair, the views of Dr. Lewis on the Infrastructure Bank are well known. It won't surprise you or colleagues that I don't share her pessimism with respect to the Infrastructure Bank.
I think the Infrastructure Bank—and I've shared that with the board chair and the CEO—has been in previous years slow to ramp up and to be able to point to, for example, the 43 investment commitments that they have made—27 of which have reached final close. These are complicated financial transactions, which is precisely why the government created the Infrastructure Bank.
I've been an opposition MP, too, Mr. Chair. It's easy to say that no projects have been completed. We can play with the word “completed”. I can tell you that premiers across the country and mayors, including those of some of the big cities in the country, have talked to me about the importance of this financing vehicle.
I hope that colleagues have taken note—