Mr. Speaker, most Canadians understand that we have a crisis in our major cities with crumbling infrastructure and particularly problems with transit.
I noted that the Ontario finance minister referred to the transit part of this budget as “crumbs”. Recognizing that we need help now, the government, wanting to balance the budget at all costs, has decided that this stuff will start after the election, and the $1 billion is two years after that. Then all of a sudden we are supposed to be happy. Let us not forget, we have to work with P3s, private-public partnerships, which often cost more money and reward friends of the government.
It is a happy package for everybody but the people who need transit services now.