OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna have announced details of the three-year Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) plan.
At a news conference in Ottawa, they said the creation of the bank would generate up to 60,000 jobs.
Michael Sabia, chair of the bank board, was also present at the meeting. The Canada Infrastructure Bank is a new Crown corporation that operates at arm’s length from government and is governed by a Board of Directors.
The Bank is responsive and accountable to the Government and Parliament through the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
McKenna tweeted: “The Canada Infrastructure Bank is critical to Canada’s infrastructure plan that is investing in thousands of projects, creating jobs across the country & building stronger, cleaner communities. The Bank’s $10 Billion Growth Plan will create 60,000 jobs, grow the economy & build a low carbon future.”
The Bank will be a part of the Government of Canada’s historic Investing in Canada plan, and an additional tool that provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous partners can use to build infrastructure across Canada.
The Bank will use federal support to attract private sector and institutional investment to new revenue-generating infrastructure projects that are in the public interest.
By leveraging the capital and expertise of the private sector, the Bank will help public dollars go further and keep our grant dollars for those projects that are more appropriate for traditional grant funding mechanisms.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank will invest $35 billion from the federal government into infrastructure projects.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said he would scrap the infrastructure bank, calling it “nothing but a waste of taxpayer dollars.” He said he would bring forward a different plan to create jobs and get projects built.
Over the next three years, the Canada Infrastructure Bank will deliver a $10 billion Growth Plan to help Canadians get back to work, connect more households and small businesses to
high-speed Internet, strengthen Canadian agriculture and help build a low-carbon economy.
The CIB Growth Plan will invest in five major initiatives:
• $2.5 billion for clean power to support renewable generation and storage and to transmit clean electricity between provinces, and territories, including northern and Indigenous communities.
• $2 billion to connect approximately 750,000 homes and small businesses to broadband in underserved communities.
• $2 billion to invest in largescale building retrofits to increase energy efficiency and help make communities more sustainable.
• $1.5 billion for agriculture irrigation projects to help the agriculture sector enhance production, strengthen Canada’s food security, and expand export opportunities.
• $1.5 billion to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure.
• To accelerate the delivery of projects in which the CIB intends to invest, it will also allocate $500 million for project development and early construction works.