4 LEXPERT
|
2016
|
WWW.LEXPERT.CA
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL BE INVESTING A HUGE AMOUNT INTO
INFRASTRUCTURE — BUT EXECUTION WILL HAPPEN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL BY BEV CLINE
STIMULUS
FOR CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES, the federal government's "In-
vesting in Canada" $120-billion infrastructure plan, as outlined in the
March 2016 budget, is both timely and critical.
Across the country, municipalities are wrestling with patching up aging
infrastructure and dealing with population growth that makes new transit
not a "want to have" initiative, but a "need to have" imperative. For many ur-
ban dwellers, the workday commute has become a dreaded part of their day.
Mark Bain, head of the Public-Private Partnerships practice and co-head
of the Infrastructure and Energy practice at Torys LLP in Toronto, says this
massive transfer of money will have an enormous impact on the infrastruc-
ture in this country. "If you dedicate that much money at three targeted
areas – according to the government, these being transit, green and social
infrastructure – you're going to move the needle quite significantly on not
only catching up in terms of renewal and refurbishment but also in moving
forward with new infrastructure in those priority areas."
THE
INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH
