Good afternoon.
Thank you for that warm welcome.
I’m pleased to be here to speak to you today about the important work our government is undertaking to help strengthen Canada’s infrastructure and encourage the use of public-private partnerships.
Let me first take a moment to congratulate the winners of the 16th National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships. I was delighted to hear that the award winners spanned the country from coast to coast – from a highway in New Brunswick, to a biosolids plant in Ontario, to a housing project in British Columbia, your winners reflect the diversity of projects that can be funded through P3s.
As you know, Canada is considered to be the “best in class” in the global P3 market, and this Conference allows you to share best practices and opportunities with one another and with our guests from across the globe.
World-class infrastructure is essential for the well-being of Canadians. It is the foundation of a strong economy, and a cornerstone of vibrant and prosperous communities.
For this reason, our government announced in Economic Action Plan 2013 a historic investment in infrastructure of $70 billion over the next ten years; this is the largest federal investment in job-creating infrastructure in Canadian history. This will build on the one million net new jobs that have been created since the depths of the recession.
The biggest portion of this investment is the $53-billion New Building Canada Plan for provincial, territorial and municipal infrastructure. Given their ability to keep costs down and provide better value to taxpayers, public-private partnerships form an important part of our government’s plan.
Leading up to Economic Action Plan 2013, we engaged with various partners and stakeholders to get feedback. Last fall, Ministers Lebel and Flaherty met with your Council, the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, to hear your ideas.
I am pleased to note that many of the elements of the New Building Canada Plan are consistent with recommendations that the Council and others made.
- First, we were asked for a long-term plan.
- We have committed to a ten-year plan, the longest in Canadian history.
- Second, we were asked for more flexibility.
- The Gas Tax Fund has been indexed and made permanent, which provides long-term, predictable funding for municipalities. We’ve also expanded the eligible categories of infrastructure projects .
- Third, the P3 Canada Fund is being renewed thanks to $1.25 billion in new funding over five years. This allows PPP Canada to continue encouraging the use of P3s, particularly in jurisdictions with little or no experience in their use.
- Finally, we are also creating a $14-billion New Building Canada Fund to support projects of national, regional and local significance.
- As a new condition, this program will include a P3 Screen that will apply to projects larger than $100 million that provinces, territories and municipalities submit for funding.
This P3 Screen will ensure that we assess these projects to determine whether they could deliver better value through a P3 than through traditional procurement. If the answer is yes, we will make P3 procurement a condition of our contribution to the project. PPP Canada, as the federal centre of expertise on P3s, will play a key role in supporting the application of this P3 screen.
Work is underway to develop the key parameters of the new Building Canada Fund, including the implementation of the P3 Screen.
And in addition to the $53 billion in funding under the New Building Canada Plan, we also plan to invest $7 billion in First Nations’ infrastructure and a further $10 billion in federal infrastructure assets.
These federal infrastructure assets include two major bridge projects:
- the new bridge for the St. Lawrence, and
- the Detroit River International Crossing.
Where it makes sense, the Government of Canada prefers a P3 procurement model to design, build, finance, operate and maintain infrastructure. There are multiple advantages to using P3s on critically important projects.
- First, this approach provides better value for money for Canadians – a top priority.
- Second, it reduces the risk of delays that can jeopardize economic opportunities and compromise transportation safety.
- Equally important, P3s encourage innovation by the private sector that respects the project’s budget and design criteria.
- And innovation fuels job creation and economic growth – our ultimate goal.
I will speak more about our two major bridge projects in a few minutes, but I’d like to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and the successes we’ve achieved together.
In 2007, we introduced the original $33-billion Building Canada plan, which represented our first long-term plan for infrastructure. It replaced previous infrastructure programs that were put in place on an ad hoc basis.
I am pleased to note that through the original Building Canada plan we made several large financial commitments to P3 highway and transit projects that have been or are being implemented across the country.
- In New Brunswick, there is the Route 1 Gateway project. I don’t have to tell you how important this project is – it was one of your Gold Award Winners.
- In Ontario, there is the Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway in Windsor, and the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project – also a Gold Award Winner.
- In Quebec, Autoroute 30 was procured through a P3 arrangement.
- In Calgary, the Southeast portion of the Stoney Trail Ring Road is a P3 project.
- In British Columbia, both highways and transit are benefitting from P3 funding – the South Fraser Perimeter Road and the Evergreen Line are both being procured through these arrangements.
- As well, P3s such as the Canada Line in Vancouver and the second phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon project in the British Columbia Interior benefited from funding under previous federal infrastructure programs.
Meanwhile, PPP Canada is investing in projects across the country through the initial P3 Canada Fund.
Since 2010, they have invested in 17 projects: from wastewater infrastructure in British Columbia to an airport in Nunavut to public transit in Quebec.
On a separate note, our government is also using the P3 model to procure federally-owned assets, such as the new facility for Communications Security Establishment Canada, and the RCMP E Division Headquarters Relocation Project.
If you’ll forgive me the mangling of the old slogan, “we liked the model so much, we use it ourselves!”
I mentioned earlier that our government is using the P3 model to invest in two major bridge projects:
- the new bridge for the St. Lawrence to replace the existing Champlain Bridge in Montreal, and
- the Detroit River International Crossing between Windsor and Detroit.
Last year, Prime Minister Harper and Michigan Governor Snyder signed the Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement. Under the agreement, Canada will be responsible for constructing, financing and operating the new Detroit River International Crossing through a public-private partnership.
The Detroit River International Crossing is one of Canada’s top national infrastructure priorities. It will reduce traffic congestion, increase the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector and support investment opportunities and job creation all along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.
But this is not just about a bridge. This is about trade, and commerce, and millions of jobs – on both sides of the border. One-quarter of all trade between our two countries – billions of dollars and the world’s largest two-way trading relationship – crosses at Windsor-Detroit. And in fact, the bridge project won an award from CG/LA Infrastructure last week for potentially creating the greatest number of jobs and/or businesses over its lifetime.
The second project, the new bridge for the St. Lawrence corridor, will replace the Champlain Bridge in Montreal – one of the busiest bridges in Canada with close to 50 million vehicles, 11 million public transit users and $20 billion worth of international trade each year.
And this bridge has also won an award from CG/LA Infrastructure – it has been named the Engineering Project of the Year that extends or demonstrates the region's technical engineering capacity, especially including innovative design and creative problem-solving.
This project is moving at an accelerated pace. Up to now, we have met all of our timelines and I can confirm today that the procurement process for the largest public-private partnership in Canada’s history will start next year. We are constantly working to keep everyone informed of work underway and upcoming – especially the travelling public.
Our government will also continue to work with the Government of Quebec, municipalities and other stakeholders to deliver a project that meets their needs.
We know that these public-private partnerships will promote long-term economic growth, jobs and prosperity for all Canadians.
In closing, our government considers P3s an important component to the success of our infrastructure investments and a means of ensuring the best value for taxpayers’ money. And so do you.
We have funded many successful P3 projects, and will continue to do so through the New Building Canada Plan. We heard the calls for a long-term infrastructure plan that encourages P3s, and we responded.
You and I are convinced about the benefits of P3s, and that’s why our government is committed to them. But there may be some outside of this room that are not convinced, and I think that you can help. They may not be aware of the benefits of P3s, and I think you can help show what these benefits are. Help us inform Canadians about the successful projects that have been funded through P3 procurement. You have years of award winners to point to, and I think it’s important that Canadians hear about them.
Meanwhile, our government remains focused on implementing the New Building Canada Plan and our two major bridge projects in a timely manner. The end result will be world-class infrastructure that benefits all Canadians.
Congratulations on a successful 2013 Conference. Thank you.
