Calling it a costly failure, MPs are saying the taxpayer-owned Canada Infrastructure Bank should be shuttered, says the Commons transport committee..“Much of the discussion throughout this study turned on the question of the bank’s efficiency with several witnesses expressing concern that projects were not flowing as quickly as expected,” said the committee report..The report cited a submission from the Canadian Construction Association that called the bank’s performance “pretty dismal.”.Parliament launched the bank in 2017 with $35 billion on a promise it would build new transportation networks and utilities by attracting private investment in public works..Disclosures showed the Toronto-based bank instead went through three CEOs in a year, paid million-dollar executive bonuses and spent $145,257 on marketing, but built little infrastructure..“You haven’t got it done,” Conservative MP Andrew Scheer (Regina Qu’Appelle) told a Feb. 25, 2021 committee hearing..“That’s the problem. You’ve got zero projects completed.”.“Projects don’t get built in a day,” testified then-Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna..Replied Scheer: “There’s no argument that it takes more than just a few days or a couple of weeks to get a large infrastructure project built, but surely to goodness you can agree that in four years the bank should have something to show for it.”.“I am also looking to see projects going ahead,” said McKenna. “My measure for success is that we get more and better infrastructure built for Canadians”:.Minister McKenna: “This is about more infrastructure.”MP Scheer: “You’ve got zero completed.”Minister McKenna: “This is about better infrastructure.”MP Scheer: “Zero cannot be more.”.“The bank is advancing on a whole range of projects,” said McKenna. “It’s not just about bringing in the private sector. It’s actually getting good projects built in the public interest. That’s why we’ve got the bank, because we can actually get more infrastructure built.”.“But in fairness you haven’t gotten any built,” replied Scheer. “This bank has been around for almost four years now, you’ve completed zero projects.”.“This was supposed to be a marquee institution,” said Scheer. “This was a marquee project. This was the prime minister’s brilliant new innovative way to build the country.”.“Your government, your ministers, your CEOs at the bank have all made amazing claims that the $35 billion the Infrastructure Bank has, taxpayers’ money, would be able to unlock two times, four times, even seven times the investment from the private sector,” said Scheer.
Calling it a costly failure, MPs are saying the taxpayer-owned Canada Infrastructure Bank should be shuttered, says the Commons transport committee..“Much of the discussion throughout this study turned on the question of the bank’s efficiency with several witnesses expressing concern that projects were not flowing as quickly as expected,” said the committee report..The report cited a submission from the Canadian Construction Association that called the bank’s performance “pretty dismal.”.Parliament launched the bank in 2017 with $35 billion on a promise it would build new transportation networks and utilities by attracting private investment in public works..Disclosures showed the Toronto-based bank instead went through three CEOs in a year, paid million-dollar executive bonuses and spent $145,257 on marketing, but built little infrastructure..“You haven’t got it done,” Conservative MP Andrew Scheer (Regina Qu’Appelle) told a Feb. 25, 2021 committee hearing..“That’s the problem. You’ve got zero projects completed.”.“Projects don’t get built in a day,” testified then-Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna..Replied Scheer: “There’s no argument that it takes more than just a few days or a couple of weeks to get a large infrastructure project built, but surely to goodness you can agree that in four years the bank should have something to show for it.”.“I am also looking to see projects going ahead,” said McKenna. “My measure for success is that we get more and better infrastructure built for Canadians”:.Minister McKenna: “This is about more infrastructure.”MP Scheer: “You’ve got zero completed.”Minister McKenna: “This is about better infrastructure.”MP Scheer: “Zero cannot be more.”.“The bank is advancing on a whole range of projects,” said McKenna. “It’s not just about bringing in the private sector. It’s actually getting good projects built in the public interest. That’s why we’ve got the bank, because we can actually get more infrastructure built.”.“But in fairness you haven’t gotten any built,” replied Scheer. “This bank has been around for almost four years now, you’ve completed zero projects.”.“This was supposed to be a marquee institution,” said Scheer. “This was a marquee project. This was the prime minister’s brilliant new innovative way to build the country.”.“Your government, your ministers, your CEOs at the bank have all made amazing claims that the $35 billion the Infrastructure Bank has, taxpayers’ money, would be able to unlock two times, four times, even seven times the investment from the private sector,” said Scheer.
