Former budget watchdog’s think-tank questions Liberal infrastructure bank plan

“Why are we privatizing the returns for those (assets) when they would be going to the public sector?” said Randall Bartlett, the institute’s chief economist.

“There really isn’t a case that’s been made for the need for this bank overall, relative to existing tools that we have for infrastructure investment.”

A spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi said cities and provinces can voluntarily use the bank, calling it just one tool in the Liberal infrastructure plan.

Brook Simpson said the bank will also work with Statistics Canada, cities and provinces to better track the country’s infrastructure needs — addressing another concern from Page’s team.

“This initiative will help the federal government and our partners better understand demand and usage, provide a national picture on the state of performance of public infrastructure, track impacts of infrastructure investments and deliver high-quality data analytics to inform policy and decision-making.”

The proposed bank would take $35 billion in government funding to entice private investment in projects like public transit systems, highways and electrical grids that generate revenues through user fees or tolls. The Liberals predict they can leverage three or four times the federal investment in private dollars for projects in three key areas: trade corridors, green infrastructure and public transit.

The legislation to create the bank is contained in a budget bill that’s currently at second reading stage in the House of Commons.

Government officials have looked to sell the bank to private pension funds as a way to ensure returns for their members.

At the same time, civil servants involved in the bank’s creation continue to talk about the new agency with stakeholders in meetings held under the condition that nothing they say be directly attributed to them — known as Chatham House rules.

At one such meeting in February, those in the audience were told that the timing and design of federal support would look to minimize the amount of government support needed to make a project financially viable.

The detail is contained in a presentation given at the meeting and obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

— Follow @jpress on Twitter

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Former budget watchdog’s think-tank questions Liberal infrastructure bank plan

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