Transport committee  I would think most municipalities that are envisaging large transit initiatives do have planning investments that need to be made.

Transport committee  This is a way of providing upfront funding for them. There's never a guarantee that there will be federal funding for any transit project, but this is a way at least of helping municipalities do some of their planning.

Transport committee  It is definitely 50% of eligible costs that are going to be reimbursed by the federal government. That's the commitment that was made.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, some of them are new hires, and that's to reflect the increase in the volume of the work that is going to be done over the next several years. It's also, in part, related to the fact that infrastructure doesn't have an A-base. All of our funding comes from programs.

Transport committee  We have an interesting range of skill sets among our staff. Some of them are engineers. Some of them are urban planners. Some of them come from the realm of public administration, and some have come to us from municipalities and have transferred in. It's quite a wide range of skill sets.

Transport committee  That is the rough process, and frankly, most provinces, territories, and municipalities already have really good capital asset plans. They know where the priorities are and it's just a question of identifying the ones that are the readiest to go that can be done in the next two years.

Transport committee  The intent of the public transit infrastructure fund is really for rehabilitation and optimization of existing assets. Every province may not have that need for rehabilitation, in which case there may be possibilities for expansion. The trick will be that the funds are intended to be expended over the next two fiscal years.

Transport committee  I'm not sure, because I would want to know better—and we can certainly get back to you with more detail on this, if you wish—what the actual investment would be. Is the investment going to be to refurbish existing stock? Is it going to be to optimize to purchase some more low-floor buses, for example?

Transport committee  It's an excellent question, and indeed it's not just a question of capacity; it's also simply the realities of the construction season in the north. Typically, for infrastructure programs the funding profile of the flow of funds is usually longer for the territories, just to recognize that fact.

Transport committee  I'll just speak to the new programs that are running as a result of the budget and for which funding is being requested through supplementary estimates (A). In those programs—the public transit fund and the clean water and waste-water fund—the projects should be done in two years, but we understand and the government recognized that this would not be possible in the territories; therefore, the program length is extended for the territories.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. I would say that primarily the intent of the public transit infrastructure fund, the short-term funding, is for maintenance of and upgrades to existing infrastructure. There was a recognition that there has been a considerable lack of good repair in many systems.

Transport committee  No, but thank you; that's an excellent question. Phase two is going to be the subject of a lot of consultation and negotiations over the next several months. Right now, no decision has been taken on how the money is going to flow and how it's going to be allocated. That will be dealt with via a memorandum to cabinet in the course of the next year, I hope.

Transport committee  It's a very collaborative process. Certainly, the allocation formulas have been shared with the provinces. That was done through the letters that were sent from Minister Sohi to his counterparts. We are waiting for the provinces and territories to prioritize where they want to invest.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. The allocation formula that was used with respect to the public transit fund came from ridership data provided by CUTA and has been shared with the provinces and territories. The intent is that it goes to all of the transit systems within each province based on ridership.

Transport committee  Primarily what is eligible, for things like rolling stock, it's for rehabilitation. It could also include planning for further planned public transit developments. Typically what is not eligible would be borrowing costs, legal costs.