October 15, 2012

Ontario calls for national public transit strategy

KELLY LAPOINTE

staff writer

National strategies for both public transit and border crossings and gateways are among the recommendations made by Ontario’s government as the federal government aims to create a new long-term infrastructure fund.

“Major infrastructure projects — that create hundreds of jobs and bring investment to Ontario — could soon be at risk without federal leadership on economic infrastructure. Canada is one of the only developed countries in the world that places nearly all infrastructure responsibilities on provinces and municipalities,” said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario’s minister for transportation and infrastructure, in a statement.

Ontario made a series of recommendations, such as investing in transit, streamlining many of the administrative requirements for federal infrastructure funding, and stimulating more private sector innovation through the alternative financing and procurement (AFP) model.

These recommendations were made as the current long-term infrastructure fund, Building Canada is set to expire in 2014. The federal government has committed to a dedicated infrastructure fund moving forward. The current plan dedicates $2 billion a year in federal funding to infrastructure. The new plan is expected to be announced in the 2013 federal budget.

Ontario said it is important to invest in core economic infrastructure, specifically highways, roads and bridges, and public transit; border crossings and gateways; and water and wastewater systems.

There should be dedicated funding for critical economic infrastructure, namely a national public transit strategy and a national border crossing and gateway strategy. These strategies should allocate dedicate funds across provinces and territories using relevant metrics.

“Public transit infrastructure is a specific component of Canada’s transportation system that is essential to our continued economic growth,” says the report, adding that Ontario acknowledges that federal government’s contributions to public transit systems across Ontario, particularly in regions such as the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Ottawa and Waterloo.

“Given the significant economic benefits of transit, and the escalating crisis of congestion, public transit funding should be a major focus of the federal long-term infrastructure plan.”

Further recommendations include: adopting an overall strategic objective of promoting Canada’s competitiveness and economic growth; and deliver funding to projects that are supported by strong business cases that clearly demonstrate anticipated economic benefits.

Ontario said the federal government should increase its level of infrastructure investment to provinces, territories and municipalities and launch the long-term infrastructure plan as quickly as possible.

“Such action is critical for Canada to compete in the global economy, to achieve our shared economic policy objectives, and to support fiscal fairness,” reads the report.

Ontario recommends allocating federal funding across provinces and territories using primarily per capita allocations, as well as allocations based on relevant metrics for a national transit strategy and a national border crossings and gateways strategy.

Ontario says it is important that the federal government require asset management information to be incorporated in funding requests across all federal infrastructure programs so that federal, provincial and territorial governments can effectively identify investment needs and prioritize projects.

The government should include targeted funding to provinces and territories to strengthen their asset management capacities in areas where they cannot currently undertake such activities on an ongoing basis.

Ontario says that there is a lack of capacity and willingness across many governments to effectively leverage the AFP (Alternative Financing and Procurement) project delivery model, which, it argues, can help them realize significant value for money savings.

It recommends that the Canadian government promote wide use of AFPs across all federal infrastructure funding programs and jurisdictions when appropriate through stronger incentives.

It also recommends focusing on educational outreach to build capacity across municipalities and smaller public authorities on how to effectively use this approach.

Finally, the government of Ontario suggests that “governments should build on the successes of the Building Canada Plan and the Economic Action Plan, by identifying ways to improve program rules and processes that have prevented us from realizing the best possible outcomes from our investments,” reads the report.

Other recommendations are: include flexibility around cost-sharing; delivery more autonomy to provinces and territories for program delivery and administration, with the federal government focusing on reviewing outcomes and performance measures; streamline administrative processes, such as the negotiation of bilateral agreements; not carve out federal administrative costs from program capital allocations to provinces and territories; and include funding commitments to provinces and territories for at least 10 years.

Ontario says it has been encouraged by the federal government’s increased investments in infrastructure over the last decade and is pleased that they are engaging provinces, territories, municipalities and stakeholders.

The infrastructure deficit “is a pan-Canadian challenge that must be resolved by all three orders of government — federal, provincial, and municipal — working in partnership,” said Chiarelli.

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