Canada’s construction industry is demanding clarity from the Government of Canada on future investment in new road infrastructure after comments made earlier this week by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
While Guilbeault explained that support to provinces for maintenance will continue, existing road infrastructure “is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have.”
We are dealing with an acute housing crisis. The government is asking our industry to build 5.8 million new homes, but is overlooking the investment needed to support these homes and communities.
A report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) estimates that it will require $107,000 in public investments per new housing unit. This amounts to a total of $620 billion in public funding needed – an additional $375 billion beyond the current planned budget.
“These new communities need new roads. People need to be connected to their jobs, their schools, and their hospitals,” says Mary Van Buren, President of the Canadian Construction Association. “A growing population has growing demands. We not only need the road networks to support their movement; we also need to shore up our trade infrastructure, which includes roads, bridges and highways.”
We have been under-investing in our trade-enabling infrastructure for 15 years, as evidenced by the drop from 10th to 32nd in terms the World Economic Forum’s global trade infrastructure ranking. Without continued investment in critical infrastructure, as recommended by the National Supply Chain Task Force, including trade-enabling infrastructure, Canada will fail to harness trade with its international partners for its economic success.
We need the federal government to partner with industry and work with municipal and provincial governments to build a strong foundation for a stronger Canada.
For more information, read our recommendations to government in advance of its 2024 Federal Budget.
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About CCA
Across Canada, CCA represents more than 18,000 member firms drawn from 62 local and provincial integrated partner associations. CCA gives voice to the public policy, legal and standards development goals of contractors, suppliers and allied business professionals working in, or with, Canada’s institutional, commercial, industrial and civil (ICIC) construction industry.
The construction sector is one of Canada’s largest employers and a major contributor to the country’s economic success. The industry, 70 per cent of which is made up of small and medium enterprises, employs more than 1.6 million Canadians and contributes 7.4 per cent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.
SOURCE Canadian Construction Association (CCA)
For further information: Rodrigue Gilbert, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Procurement Practices, 613-808-7435, rgilbert@cca-acc.com
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