Hamilton Votes 2008

[SteelTown]

Liberals unveil unprecedented infrastructure plan

TORONTO – A new Liberal government will commit more than $70 billion over the next 10 years to improve the critical infrastructure that supports Canada’s competitiveness and quality of life and will divert unanticipated annual budget surpluses to infrastructure projects, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced today.

“Canada faces an infrastructure deficit in the hundreds of billions of dollars,” said Mr. Dion. “A Liberal government will invest aggressively to reduce that deficit, working in partnership with the provinces and territories and our cities and communities.”

In these times of economic difficulty, we Liberals understand that the government must make investments into those areas that will increase our competitiveness and at the same time, create good, well-paying jobs for Canadians.

While honouring all existing framework agreements that have been signed with the provinces and territories, our $70-billion investment will support Liberal priorities, including building and upgrading strategic infrastructure, creating a National Transit Strategy, developing a Small Communities Fund, strengthening gateway, corridor, and border infrastructure, and renewing and expanding sports and recreational facilities.

A Liberal government created the gas tax transfer to municipalities to help them invest in important infrastructure needs, and we will now index it to economic growth so our cities and communities can develop as our economy grows. Over the course of our 10-year plan, municipalities will see almost $25 billion transferred to them through the improved gas tax transfer.

This announcement builds on a Liberal commitment made in February 2008 that all unanticipated surplus funds beyond a $3-billion contingency reserve will be spent on infrastructure, particularly green infrastructure.

A new Liberal government will also create an Infrastructure Bank to make available to all levels of government low-cost financing for infrastructure projects such as regional energy grids or high-speed rail.

“Canada’s cities and towns are the engines of our economy,” said Mr. Dion. “Without significant long-term investments in infrastructure, our economy and environment will suffer. This plan will provide Canada’s economic engines with the support they need, and is an important part of our efforts to reduce Canada’s environmental footprint.”