QUESTION PERIOD — Infrastructure Canada
Report of Parliamentary Budget Officer
June 23, 2020
My question is also for the government leader in the Senate.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report last week on the federal government’s Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. Among his findings, he stated that federal infrastructure spending continues to be delayed by about $2 billion less than the government originally forecast. He also stated there is little evidence that increased federal infrastructure spending has resulted in higher provincial infrastructure spending, which is consistent with an earlier report released by his office.
On Monday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer posted a supplementary note detailing the difficulties his office had in getting information on projects from the government. He said the amount of work required by his staff was unusual and indicates a need for improvements in data collection on infrastructure projects.
Senator Gold, how will you and your government address the problems raised in this latest Parliamentary Budget Office report on the infrastructure program?
Thank you for your question, senator. The government is aware, of course, of the report. I’m advised that it takes this report, as all others, seriously. But I’m not in a position now to provide the government’s response to the report. It is seized with it. The government considers providing support for infrastructure in the national interest, and I can assure this chamber that the government will respond in a timely fashion.
The problem, Senator Gold, is not new. On the National Finance Committee, we looked at the infrastructure program a couple of years ago. The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s finding is consistent with what we found.
The mandate letter for the minister instructs the minister as follows:
Ensure that Canadians have access to accurate and timely information about infrastructure investments in their communities, and work with your Cabinet colleagues to improve financial reporting to Canadians and the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Despite this instruction, Minister McKenna recently claimed she couldn’t provide the locations or details of thousands of projects to the Parliamentary Budget Officer for privacy and security reasons. We’re talking about billions of dollars in the infrastructure program. Is the minister’s attempt to invoke privacy and security concerns a sign that the government will not solve the problems plaguing the program?
Thank you for the question. I would not hazard a guess as to motivations here, except to say the government remains committed to the program and committed to providing information. If there are legitimate privacy concerns which the minister addressed, I can assure this chamber that they are being pursued in good faith.
