Amarjeet Sohi

[Infrastructure, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to say that even in the hon. member's municipality we are investing money into the design and planning work that is currently under way, along with many other municipalities, to advance public transit, to do the work on waste water, as well as many other projects. Some 60% of the projects that we have approved under our new plan are currently under way.

[Infrastructure, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are delivering on our commitments. Since taking office, we have approved over 900 projects, including more than 700 projects for budget 2016 funding for infrastructure. More than 60% of those projects are currently under way, improving transit systems, ensuring Canadians have safe and clean water to drink.

We will continue to work with our municipal, provincial, and territorial partners to deliver on the commitments we made to Canadians.

[Infrastructure, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that over the summer months we concluded our bilateral agreements for infrastructure investments with all provinces and territories, including Nunavut. We have announced more than $92 million in federal funding for projects in Nunavut in the last few months.

As far as the Grays Bay project is concerned, it is not at a stage where it can move forward. I will continue to work with the Territory of Nunavut to make sure that—

[Infrastructure, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Brampton South, as well as other members from that community, for hosting me there last week.

We announced over $5 million towards water and waste water projects in Brampton, ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water and healthy rivers and lakes.

We will also be investing in public transit in Brampton to reduce the commute time for Brampton families as well as to improve air quality and strengthen our communities.

[Infrastructure, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to deliver on our long-term infrastructure investment commitment. Today the Prime Minister announced our first bilateral agreement, investing $460 million in public transit in British Columbia, leveraging more than $920 million altogether.

This funding will support projects that will create jobs immediately, grow the economy and reduce traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help build strong and inclusive communities.

[Main Estimates 2016-17, June 14th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, let me touch base on the bilateral agreements for a minute.

I have an excellent relationship with our provincial counterparts. I had a chance to meet with my provincial counterparts in the province of Quebec. I had a chance to meet with the mayors of Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City. We are working in close collaboration to provide the necessary support that our communities need. We are moving forward on signing bilateral agreements.

As far as flood mitigation is concerned, absolutely, we understand. We need to make our communities more resilient and adapt to the impacts of climate change. We are working with our municipalities to do so.

However, the challenges the member has identified are not unique for that particular community. There are challenges throughout the country. Different areas have different needs. I had a chance to visit the city of Red Deer in March. I was surprised to know that I was the first infrastructure minister to visit that city in a decade. That tells us how the needs of the municipalities have been ignored for the last decade.

We will work in collaboration with the municipalities and welcome co-operation from my colleagues to deliver on the necessary infrastructure that communities need.

[Main Estimates 2016-17, June 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I also appreciate my hon. colleague's very deep understanding about infrastructure and why we need to invest in areas that the hon. member has identified; whether it is public transit, affordable housing, or making our communities more resilient to climate change under green infrastructure.

I also share the concerns raised by the member about the lack of investments that should have been made in the last number of years but were not made. It will be worth sharing that in 2014 the previous government, despite allocating $1.6 billion for Quebec, delivered zero dollars in the last two years for the province of Quebec, which is a concern to us. It was the same with Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. It is not a new story, how the previous government neglected the needs of the provinces and municipalities.

However, I agree with my hon. colleague to have flexibility, as well as that once I—

[Main Estimates 2016-17, June 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we looked at different options. We continued to share the space with Transport Canada. The best option for us was to build a new space; a space where we could have a dedicated minister, a dedicated DM, and space for 32 people on one floor to bring the efficiencies and to bring the collaborative approach to working together. We did that under the guidelines of the Treasury Board. We did that under the guidelines that are followed by all other ministries, the procurement guidelines, and everything. We proactively disclosed that information in April, and that information was available. We are doubling our investments in infrastructure throughout the country.

[Main Estimates 2016-17, June 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I did state the day this issue came up, from that day to today, that ours is a stand-alone ministry with a dedicated minister and deputy minister, which did not happen in the previous administration. Infrastructure Canada was part of Transport Canada.

Therefore, we needed to create this whole ministry from scratch. The only person who was in common was our deputy minister. We were sharing space with Transport Canada for a little while, but we needed appropriate space to consolidate our staff on one floor as well as create a workable space for the staff we needed in order to deliver on those commitments.

[Main Estimates 2016-17, June 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing I did when I was appointed to this position was engage with Canadians to learn what the needs were, what was working for them, and what was not.

I engaged with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with big-city mayors. I made phone calls to all of my provincial counterparts to let them know about our government's willingness to work in collaboration and partnership.

I learned during those conversations that the top-heavy approach of the previous government was not working for them. They wanted local decision-making. They wanted their municipalities to decide what the needs were. I heard about the relaxing and reforming of the building Canada fund. The building Canada fund was started in 2014, and when I took office in November 2015, almost zero dollars of it was invested in communities.

We heard that public transit is important to people. Water and waste water is important to people. Affordable housing is important to people. Day care facilities are important to people. Roads, bridges, interchanges, and transportation corridors are important to people. Things that grow our economy and create jobs for Canadians, things that—