Mr. Speaker, the question I rose on originally remains a persistent problem in this country: cities do not have the resources they need to both build the platform for economic success or even maintain the infrastructure required to sustain a modern economy.
The question, in particular, was around the city of Regina, a city which I visited. I spoke with the board of trade, the mayor, councillors, housing advocates, a long list of individuals who are looking for partnership in Ottawa and instead quite often are subjected effectively to a series of promises that never seem to arrive in these cities. If one were to ask the mayor directly, “Did you get money from the new building Canada fund last year”, the answer would be no. There was federal support from things like the gas tax started by Paul Martin, perfected by others, and added to by the current government, but it is still existing money which builds on a base of funding. It is not money for new infrastructure and it certainly is not money to repair existing and aging infrastructure. This question is pertinent certainly as we head toward the budget tomorrow.
There has also been no money delivered this year from the new building Canada fund. It is back-end loaded. The fund arrives in 10 years' time. That money is needed now by the cities. The cities are pleading with the federal government to get the money moving, but because of the delay in the budget and because of the way in which the program is currently structured, the money is not going to arrive this year either. This means we have now lost two construction seasons not due to the promise of infrastructure funding, but the design of the system and the delivery of the funds themselves.
My question is a very simple one. Is there going to be a stop to the money being back-end loaded? Is there going to be an annual amount of infrastructure funding delivered to cities in a predictable and robust way that allows them not only to do multi-year planning but to do annual construction build-out so they do not have to wait 10 years for the government's promises to arrive in their cities? In Regina, the needs are very clear. It needs $30 million for a new transit facility. It needs millions for highway overpasses to facilitate a modern economy, which is starting to struggle without being diversified and they need to diversify. It needs $67 million for the railroad revitalization program, a major redevelopment of the downtown core, which would boost the city's capacity to raise taxes and to part with Ottawa.
Is money going to arrive on an annual basis, and if it is, how much is coming this year and how much is coming next year?