Question Period Note: INVESTING IN CANADA PLAN

What are the key results to date for the Investing in Canada Plan?

• Our historic Investing in Canada plan is generating economic growth, creating good jobs, and building strong, green, inclusive communities for Canadians to live and work in.

• We have approved thousands of projects across the country, improving Canadians’ access to affordable housing, clean water, highways, community centres, and transit systems.

• In response to COVID-19, the Government of Canada is adapting programming under the Plan to give communities more flexibility to access funds.

• The Investing in Canada Plan (the Plan) is the federal government's long-term infrastructure plan that was announced in Budget 2016 and further elaborated in the 2016 Fall Economic Statement, Budget 2017; and more recently Budget 2019. The Plan provides a single, consolidated strategic framework to guide the delivery of more than $180 billion in federal investments in infrastructure over 12 years.

• The Plan is focused on achieving three key objectives: generating long-term economic growth to build a stronger middle class; improving the resiliency of communities and Canada’s transition to a clean growth economy; and enhancing social inclusion and socio-economic outcomes for all Canadians.

• The Plan comprises $95.6 billion in new funding for infrastructure programs, committed in Budgets 2016 and 2017. Additionally, the Plan is designed to deliver $92.2 billion through pre-budget 2016 programs, through funding mechanisms such as the federal Gas Tax Fund and the New Building Canada Fund.

  ◦ In Budget 2016 (Phase 1), $14.4 billion was made available to accelerate federal investments in the short term by providing funding for the rehabilitation, repair, and modernization of existing public transit, green and social infrastructure, as well as for post-secondary education and broadband access for remote communities. All Budget 2016 programs under the Plan have launched and many have finished.

  ◦ In Budget 2017 (Phase 2), more than $81 billion in new funding was made available to support five priority areas over the next decade: public transit, green, social, trade and transportation, and rural and northern communities’ infrastructure. All Budget 2017 programs have launched. In addition to these programs, the $2 billion Reserved Green Funding that was held by Finance Canada for future funding decisions was allocated in Budget 2019, as follows:

   ▪ Northern Grid ($760 million);
  
   ▪ FCM Home Energy Retrofits ($474 million);
  
   ▪ National Trade Corridors Fund for projects in the artic and northern regions ($400 million);
  
   ▪ Canada Coal Transition Initiative ( $150 million);
  
   ▪ Electric Vehicles and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure ($130 million);
  
   ▪ Municipal Asset Management Program ($60 million); and
  
   ▪ Yukon University ($26 million).
  

  ◦ In Budget 2019, funding was made available to support existing initiatives under the Plan as well as new infrastructure projects such as:

  ▪ A one-time top up to the Gas Tax Fund of $2.2 billion;

  ▪ $6 billion to extend high-speed internet to rural and remote communities; and

  ▪ $300 million for a Housing Supply Challenge.

    * The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is the centrepiece of Infrastructure Canada’s (INFC) funding initiatives supporting the broader Investing in Canada Plan. Managed through Integrated Bilateral Agreements, this ten-year allocation-based program promotes strong collaboration between all levels of government by advancing outcomes in a manner that is flexible and responsive to unique local, provincial and territorial circumstances.

• Under the program, INFC has signed Integrated Bilateral Agreements with all provincial and territorial governments to deliver $33.1 billion of stable, predictable funding that will produce economic, social, and environmental benefits for generations to come.

• INFC is responsible for the overall coordination and annual reporting on results for the 85+ programs under the Plan. The department delivers Investing in Canada programming along with 15 other federal departments and agencies including Indigenous Services Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Employment and Social Development Canada and Transport Canada.

• INFC is committed to reporting transparently and openly on the progress and results of the Plan.

  ◦ In December 2017, INFC published a geo-map of projects funded under the Plan.

  ◦ In April 2018, the Investing in Canada Plan publication was made available to Canadians on Infrastructure Canada’s website.

  ◦ In November 2018, implementation and spending progress of the Plan was published on INFC’s website.

  ◦ In May 2019, INFC published its first progress report on the Plan.

  ◦ INFC also reports on the status of its programming through the Privy Council Office’s Mandate Letter Tracker, the Government of Canada’s Open data portal and through the Department Results Report.

• Programs under the Plan are being modified to add additional flexibilities to address new concerns in light of COVID-19. For example, the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative (CHCI) will provide up to $31 million in existing federal funding to support communities as they deploy new ways to adapt spaces and services to respond to immediate and ongoing needs arising from COVID-19 over the next two years.

• Additionally, the Government of Canada is adapting the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to respond to the impacts of COVID-19. A new temporary COVID-19 Resilience stream, with over $3 billion available in existing funding, has been created to provide provinces and territories with added flexibility to fund quick-start, short-term projects that might not otherwise be eligible under existing funding streams.

None