Tab-A: Opening remarks

Speech for Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

Ottawa, Ontario
Feb. 27, 2020

Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.

This my first appearance before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities as the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and I would like to start by congratulating the newly elected Chair and Vice-Chair, and thanking all of you for your efforts on behalf of Canadians.

I am here with my excellent deputy, Kelly Gillis, who I have leaned on heavily as I’ve been getting up to speed in this important portfolio.

As you know, infrastructure truly impacts every single Canadian every single day – how we work and do business, how we live, how we play, how much time we’re able to spend with our families, how we manage a sustainable way of life, and the type of communities we leave to our children and grandchildren.

I’m here today to speak with you and answer your questions about the progress we have made in delivering the Government’s historic Investing in Canada plan.

The last four years

When we first took office in 2015, we recognized that our country faced a historic challenge and opportunity. An opportunity to use low interest rates, strong federal finances, and the challenge of energy transition in a time of climate change to invest in transformative projects – like public transit, high-speed broadband and renewable energy.

Countless studies have pointed to clean and low-carbon infrastructure investments as one of the best ways to prepare for the economy of the future.

In fact, the Finance Minister’s economic advisory council identified infrastructure as the most powerful driver for growth and productivity, in both the short term and long term.

The flip side -- presented by groups such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Insurance Bureau of Canada -- is that significant investments in resilient infrastructure can save us billions of dollars.

We spoke with Canadians in communities across the country. We spoke with Indigenous partners… provincial, territorial, and municipal leaders… and countless stakeholders.

They told us what they need for the success of their communities and the people living in them to be successful, and we listened to them.

It was with this important feedback in mind that we designed the Investing in Canada plan.

The Plan includes big cities and smaller communities, suburban, rural and Northern, and it’s designed to create good jobs and grow the economy, invest in cleaner air and water… modern and reliable public transit… resilient infrastructure… and sustainable communities.

And we are making tremendous progress. The Government of Canada has already committed over $65.1 billion in federal funding through the Investing in Canada plan, funding more than 52,000 projects, most of which are either underway or completed.

Projects like:

• the $2.2 million invested in clean drinking water infrastructure in Plessisville, in your riding M. Berthold
• or the $12 million invested in Prince Rupert’s drinking water system in your riding, Mr. Bachrach.
• Or the federal funding for a pumping station and wastewater upgrades in Vercheres, in your riding, M. Barsalou-Duval.

Our government has been investing in projects that are creating good jobs and supporting our nation’s ongoing transition to a clean growth economy.

That was just the beginning, which brings us to today.

Current mandate and next steps

Our investments focus on five main priorities: public transit; green; social; trade and transportation; and rural and northern communities’ infrastructure.

The goal is to improve Canadians’ quality of life.

That’s why we’re committed to working with provinces and territories to purchase 5,000 zero-emission school and transit buses over the next five years, and it’s why all new public transit funding will be zero-emission options by 2023.

We are very fortunate to have Canadian companies who are world leaders in electric buses, like New Flyer and Nova Bus.

With the capacity and the know-how to build those electric buses right here in Canada, this is a win-win.

Since 2015, Canadians have created about 80,000 jobs in the infrastructure sector – which has contributed significantly to the million-plus jobs created across Canada on our government’s watch.

In fact, I’d like to see us promote Canadian companies that use low-carbon building materials, such as CarbonCure Technologies from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, or cross-laminated timber from Chantiers Chibougamau in Quebec, or carbon-free aluminum from Elysis, a Montreal-based joint venture.

Just like infrastructure and the economy go together, so too, do infrastructure and the environment.

Through bilateral agreements with each of the provinces and territories, we are investing over $33 billion across the country.

And we’re encouraging them to work closely with their municipalities, their communities, and their municipal associations to bring projects forward quickly for federal approvals so no one misses a construction season. We want Canadians to see and feel the benefits of these projects as quickly as possible.

In addition to my provincial and territorial counterparts, I’ve met recently with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Big City Mayors Caucus, with TransLink mayors in British Columbia, and many other stakeholders to hear about ways we can improve their communities. To listen to their priorities. To see the impact our investments are having.

And the progress is real. Such as the 88 on-reserve long-term drinking water advisories that we have eliminated across Canada. Or the more than 900 rural and remote communities that are now benefitting from improved high-speed Internet access.

Consider the new Gordie Howe International Bridge that will connect Windsor to Detroit, Michigan in 2024 -- vastly improving Canada’s single busiest trade artery, which handles about a quarter of all Canada-US bilateral trade each year.

Or the new Samuel De Champlain Bridge in Montreal that connects commuters, cyclists, pedestrians and tourists, not to mention providing a modern link that allows for $20 billion of international trade each year.

The list goes on, but the work doesn’t stop.

For example, we are committed to moving forward on clean power to help support rural and remote communities transition from diesel power to clean, renewable and reliable energy.

We’ll also be working with the Canada Infrastructure Bank and others to deliver high-speed Internet access to every home and business across the country by 2030.

Where we go from here

And we will support major nation-building projects through a National Infrastructure Fund. Projects that connect people and businesses, and help raise the standard of living for Canadians in significant and long-lasting ways.

Thinking long-term, we recognize it’s much cheaper to build now for a changing climate than to deal with the impacts later. This is the goal of our Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.

The return on investment from disaster mitigation has been estimated to range anywhere from $6 of savings for every dollar invested to as much as $14.

When natural disasters strike, sending out our military to sandbag after flooding or put out fires is far less effective than investing to mitigate the effects of disasters before they even happen.

I have three key priorities — to work with partners to get projects built quickly, to leverage the power of infrastructure to grow our economy, create jobs and boost productivity, and to ensure that our projects help build a more resilient, low-carbon future.

The bottom line is that I see infrastructure not only as a fantastic nation-building exercise, but also as our chance to build the strong, prosperous Canada of tomorrow. When Canada builds, Canada grows.

To maintain the momentum, we will continue to focus on examining how we deliver our infrastructure funding programs -- and to improve them.

Building clean, smart, sustainable infrastructure will put Canada on the front foot as we manage the transition to a low carbon economy.

We can do this, and we must.

That’s why we’re working to make sure that all provinces and territories identify and approve all their long-term infrastructure priorities by 2022. We have committed to working directly with municipalities if provinces are unwilling to designate projects by the end of 2021, because funding for critical municipal infrastructure simply cannot wait.

I would like to thank the members of the Committee for the opportunity to update you on the important work we are doing to benefit Canadians. I am pleased to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.