Feds questioned about Massey funds

Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi says provinces and municipalities will set their own priorities for how to use billions in new infrastructure funding from the federal Liberals’ first budget this week.

Sohi spoke to business people and local politicians Thursday in Richmond as part of cross-country tours by Liberal cabinet ministers to sell their maiden budget.

Sohi told reporters that it’s up to provinces and cities to decide how to invest new funds. “Our goal is to ensure that we enable municipalities to make local decisions,” he said.

“We’re here to support and the first phase of the funds will be so flexible that they’ll be able to prioritize and use the funds best to do their repairs, to do their rehabilitation, to modernize their infrastructure.”

The budget included cash for light rail in Metro Vancouver, but made no mention of the B.C. government’s top infrastructure priority to replace the George Massey Tunnel with a $3.5-billion bridge.

During a question-and-answer session, Delta Mayor Lois Jackson urged Sohi to support the project, while Richmond Coun. Harold Steves mounted a case in opposition to the bridge and said an environmental review is needed.

Sohi said B.C. has not put forward a funding application to Infrastructure Canada and when it does, his ministry will review it. He added there was about $9 billion in existing Building Canada funds that have not been invested by the previous Conservative government.

Trish Rorison, a spokeswoman for the B.C. government, said the province had submitted an application through P3 Canada for the tunnel replacement by the deadline in June 2015. She said P3 Canada was then under the federal finance ministry and only just moved under Infrastructure Canada in this week’s budget.

Sohi said he has a strong working relationship with B.C.’s Transportation Minister Todd Stone and the minister responsible for TransLink, Peter Fassbender, and was planning to meet with them later Thursday.

“We understand the priorities of the province and will work to ensure we are assisting them in meeting those priorities.”

On the campaign trail, the Liberals made revamping Canada’s crumbling infrastructure a major selling point to voters with a promise to invest $10 billion over the next two years. But the budget showed that over this year and next, the government will spend $6.8 billion.

The Liberals say the short-term “first phase” of their plan — totalling $11.9 billion over five years — will target the country’s aging infrastructure and help protect it from climate change.

Most of the spending in the Liberals’ infrastructure plan is to occur after 2019, when the next federal election is scheduled.

That’s part of Phase 2 that the government says will be broader and more ambitious, targeting largescale projects that often take years to plan.