Amarjeet Sohi

[Infrastructure, May 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the infrastructure bank will allow us to build more infrastructure in partnership with our municipal sector and in partnership with our provincial sector. There will be different layers of accountability, and due diligence will be done every step of the way when we engage with the infrastructure bank or with the private sector.

Municipalities struggled for a long time to be properly funded by the previous government. We are there to support them, whether we do that through our traditional funding models, which took billions and billions of dollars, or allow the infrastructure bank to build more infrastructure for Canadian—

[Infrastructure, May 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian pension funds like CPPIB, OMERS, teachers, IMCO, or the Caisse de dépôt invest billions of dollars helping to build infrastructure in other countries. They have been doing that for Australia and they will do it for Latin America.

What is wrong if our own pension plans invest in our own infrastructure to create jobs in our own communities to help grow our own middle class so that people have opportunities?

[Infrastructure, May 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to put forward a very ambitious plan to build and rebuild Canadian infrastructure, to grow our economy, and create jobs for the middle class. We are very proud that the infrastructure bank will allow us to build more of the infrastructure that our communities need as well as free up government resources so we can build more social housing, more shelters, and more recreational and cultural facilities to help those who struggle each and every day to be part of the middle class.

[Interests of Quebec, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we were very pleased to see the interest of a number of municipalities to headquarter the Canada infrastructure bank. We feel that regardless of the location, every municipality will benefit from the creation of the infrastructure bank, because they can undertake projects and mobilize the private sector as well as public dollars to build the infrastructure their communities need. We hear that from municipalities all the time. That is why we have put forward an ambitious plan to help them build the infrastructure they need, grow our economy, create jobs for the middle class and those working hard to be part of it.

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of projects being funded in the member's own riding as well, through the other government.

We are not ignoring the needs of Canadians, obviously. We want to work with all stakeholders. We want to work with unions. We want to work with the building trades. We want to work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We want to work with the private sector.

We believe that the private sector can deliver more infrastructure that our communities need. If we can leverage public dollars, what is wrong with that? The member may have something against the private sector; we—

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely incorrect when he says money is slow in flowing.

We approved 2,200 projects with a combined investment of $20 billion with provinces and municipalities. Almost 50% of those projects are under way. They are allowing us to create a transit system that is accessible for people with disabilities. We are allowing them to buy 1,000 buses that will improve transit services. We are improving drinking water in our communities. We are delivering on what we promised to Canadians, and we will continue to do so.

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we have some investment funds in Canada that are known worldwide. CPPIB is one of them. OMERS is one of them. These are funds that would like to invest in Canadian infrastructure to grow our economy and create jobs for the middle class. That would benefit Canadians from coast to coast. That is exactly what our plan talks about. We will continue to invest in our traditional funding models. We will continue to engage with the private sector, because that sector is the one that delivers infrastructure on behalf of Canadians now.

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we always put Canadians ahead of anything else. We approved 11 projects in the member's own riding, with a combined investment of $34 million this year. That is putting Canadians first. That did not happen under the previous government and that would not happen if her party were in power, because New Democrats have no plan for infrastructure.

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I can say as a former municipal councillor that one of the things our municipalities need is consistent, sustainable, and long-term funding, which did not happen with the previous government.

We have been consulting with our partners for the last year to establish the Canada infrastructure bank. We talked to unions, talked to provinces and territories, talked to investors. We talked to all sorts of Canadians, many people. As a matter of fact, the hon. member was with me in Washington when we consulted with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the creation of the Canada infrastructure bank.

[Infrastructure, May 11th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the presentation we made to investors is available to the public and the hon. member is welcome to read it. I hope he has read it, because there is nothing dubious about it.

We are very proud that we are attracting international capital to invest in our Canadian infrastructure. We are encouraging our own pension plans, such as CPPIB and the Caisse de dépôt, that invest in foreign countries to invest in our own country, to create jobs for the middle class and build the necessary infrastructure that our communities need. We are doing better, and will continue to do better, than the previous government.