Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Before we continue with clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-33, I would like to take this moment to move a motion that was put on notice on Friday, November 24. The motion is as follows:
Given that, after almost seven years, the Canada Infrastructure Bank:
(a) has made significant investment announcements and commitments that have either been cancelled or failed, including the $1.7-billion Lake Erie connector project, the $20-million Mapleton water and wastewater project and four previously announced investments that have been cancelled in 2022-23 alone;
(b) has made investment decisions that call into question its ability to make sound and responsible investments with taxpayer dollars in projects that benefit the public good, including most recently the multi-million dollar deal for a private equity firm owner of a top luxury hotel;
the committee recognize that it has lost confidence in the Canada Infrastructure Bank to make investment decisions that serve the best interests of Canadians and meet the urgent infrastructure needs of Canadian communities.
Mr. Chair, I'm raising this motion at this moment, because we know that, at a time when carbon taxes are high and runaway deficit spending and inflation are forcing Canadians to attend food banks at rates we've never seen before, this government needs to be held accountable for the policies and how they are contributing to the pain Canadians are feeling. Future generations of Canadians are being saddled with billions of dollars in debt instead of being better off. They're being left with aging, deteriorating infrastructure.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank has clearly failed to make sound investment decisions for the best interests of Canadians, and it has failed by issuing billion-dollar projects, including $655 million promised to a multi-billion dollar company, Fortis, for an electricity project that ironically failed because of inflation projections caused by the Liberal government.
This out-of-touch bank thought it was appropriate also, during a housing crisis, to lend $46.5 million to one of Canada's most expensive hotels, so that it could retrofit its $500-a-night rooms. This is all in the context of a bank that has had seven years to get off the ground but has failed to build infrastructure for communities; this infrastructure is well needed now in order to fuel our economy.
That is why I am requesting the support of this committee to report this opinion to the House, which makes clear that we have lost confidence in the ability of this bank to make investments in the best interests of Canadians at this critical time.
Thank you.