Federal Tory MPs agree infrastructure investment needs work
Federal infrastructure investment, including for Canada’s national trade corridors, needs to be sustained, incremental and tied to a strategy that grows the economy, a key Conservative MP agreed in a recent meeting with MHCA.
MHCA President & CEO Chris Lorenc met August 15 with Ontario MP Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand-Norfolk) and Ted Falk (Provencher), and discussed the need to see Canada’s trade capacity grow, noting it is 65% of the country’s GDP.
“Our regions, across the map, need to see a deliberate strategy, along with long-term strategic planning and investment in our transportation corridors, to increase trade,” Lorenc said.
Lewis, the Conservative Party of Canada’s critic for Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities, agreed with the position that federal and provincial trade infrastructure investment should be guided by a strategy that prioritizes trade corridor projects with the highest return to the GDP.
MHCA shared with her and Falk the Canada Trade Investment Plan (CTIP) being proposed by six leading national business associations. CTIP’s principles were unanimously endorsed by Canada’s premiers at the July meeting of the Council of the Federation.
The discussion also hit upon the Canada Infrastructure Bank, which has struggled to fully realize its mandate and potential, with just a few investments to date. Lorenc stressed that a review of the Bank’s operations and mandate, especially against the operations of other models globally, could benefit the level of private-sector engagement and investment.
