House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 34% of the vote.
Government Appointments May 17th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the infrastructure bank is an important part of our ambitious plan to build and rebuild Canadian community infrastructure. We are investing more than $186 billion to support our municipal sector, our provincial and territorial sectors, and to build the infrastructure they need.
As far as the appointments are concerned, we will make sure that once the bank is established, the appointments will be confirmed after that.
Infrastructure May 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the small cities challenge will encourage cities to adopt new and innovative approaches to city building and improve the quality of life for residents through the implementation of clean, digitally connected technologies, including green buildings, smart roads and energy systems. This $300-million program is a great opportunity for Canadian municipalities. I look forward to announcing this challenge in the coming months.
Infrastructure May 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, for the last two weeks, members of the opposition have been criticizing us for being too close to private capital. Now they are saying that we would allow oversight.
We have created the right balance that will allow us to mobilize private capital and build more infrastructure while at same time being accountable to Parliament and making sure the government is there to protect the public interest and ensure projects being built are serving the public interest.
Infrastructure May 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships on the bank: “The Council is optimistic that the bank will play a significant role in attracting more private capital while growing the pipeline of P3 projects across Canada.”
Our goal is to build more infrastructure that Canadian communities need. We will do that in co-operation with our municipalities and provinces, as well as the private sector, to make sure they have the right type of infrastructure that they deserve.
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we will always make sure that we protect the public interest, that we protect Canadian taxpayers' interest. Our goal is to mobilize private capital so that we can build more infrastructure that our Canadian communities deserve, the infrastructure that the Harper government denied for a decade. If we ask any big city mayor or any small city mayor, they will say that for the last decade they have seen very little investment. Our goal is to build the infrastructure that our Canadian communities deserve and need.
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, let me tell the House what the CEO of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships has to say about the infrastructure bank: “The Council is optimistic that the bank will play a significant role in attracting more private capital while growing the pipeline of P3 projects across Canada.”
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, under the previous government, our communities suffered greatly because the infrastructure they need—
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we are very proud that the infrastructure bank will actually report to this House, through Parliament, through the regular operational plans that will be tabled. The members can see that, as well as the extensive consultation that we have done with our stakeholders and our partners, who are in broad support of our infrastructure plan.
They understand that their communities have been struggling for a decade, that their communities need more affordable housing, more recreational centres, more public transit. Indeed, we need to make sure that we do it in a way that we free up public resources—
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we have done an extensive amount of consultation over the last year, engaging with municipalities, provinces, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, labour organizations, trade councils, the IMF, the World Bank, and with all sorts of stakeholders that are interested in infrastructure.
We will continue to engage with them as we set up the bank, as we hire the CEO and put the board of directors in place. Our goal is to make sure we are protecting the public interest and at same time building more infrastructure that our Canadian communities deserve.
Infrastructure May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of infrastructure that our government supports building is owned by the provincial, municipal, and territorial sectors.
Our goal is to make sure that we are leveraging private capital to build more of the infrastructure that our Canadian communities need. The private sector has been playing a prominent role in building infrastructure in our country for decades, for centuries.
We want to take it to the next level, where we can leverage private investment to build more infrastructure that our Canadian communities deserve and need.