Ontario on infrastructure.
In response to the article entitled “Wrong Priority”, Ontario has released the following press release.
“Investing in infrastructure is a crucial priority for all Canadian governments in this financial crisis. The Government of Ontario is not underestimating the power of trade as we advocated for it at a recent agenda meeting. However, Ontario feels strongly that investing in infrastructure is a viable solution to contend with the current economic situation.
Ontario takes issue with the quick dismissal of infrastructure by many of its provincial counterparts at last week’s agenda meeting. Investing in infrastructure projects puts people in jobs, giving them a wage they are then able to spend in the local economy supporting retail and service firms. This puts in forward linkages that support the greater Canadian economy. Improving infrastructure will increase efficiency and the quality of government programs as well as impacting the quality of life for every Canadian.
Infrastructure is about more than just repaving roads. Canadian society relies on a strong, efficient infrastructure. Without continued improvements Canadian society will stagnate, creating continuously increasing problems for the government. Surface solutions and band-aid programs will only go so far: we need to address the structural infrastructure problems underlying such issues as hospital wait times and renewable energy resources.
The Government of Ontario would like to point out the overall interest in increased infrastructure funding advocated at today’s agenda meeting in terms of health care and environmental initiatives. We wonder why our provincial and territorial government counterparts are now claiming their support for such initiatives when at last week’s agenda meeting, infrastructure was deemed as an expensive and wasteful investment. A member of the Alberta delegation even likened such investment to digging holes and filling them back in again. While not all provinces are equally blessed with wealth such as Alberta’s, that province could surely also benefit from enhanced infrastructure.
In essence, the Government of Ontario would like to assure its citizens and all Canadians of its commitment to investing in infrastructure to build a better today, together.”
