The federal government’s $14-billion construction program began last month, when the money earmarked for roads, bridges and many other new or crumbling services was supposed to land in local hands.
Or, so they had thought.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) says crucial data needed for the funding application process were dropped on the provinces at the last-minute — and that has delayed the approval of projects and threatens to push them into next year.
“We’re still in the dark. None of our members can apply because we don’t know how to apply,” said FCM president Claude Dauphin.
“To tell the truth, we’re a little bit worried. We cannot afford to lose an entire construction season,” said Mr. Dauphin, who is mayor of the Montreal borough of Lachine.
“We don’t what to play the blame game. But, at the same time, we want to play a game with shovels to the ground.”
The infrastructure program was announced in the 2013 federal budget, to replace a smaller, seven-year fund. The final version was contained in this year’s spending document, which took effect April 1.
The new Building Canada Fund comes under the umbrella of the $53-billion Building Canada Plan, also with a 10-year lifespan. In addition to the building fund, it includes a $21.8-billion Gas Tax Fund, a $10.4-billion Goods and Services Tax Rebate for Municipalities program, and a $1.25-billion fund for Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), renewed for another five years.
But the Building Canada Fund has been plagued by confusion since it was launched less than two months ago. Since then, the lack of details and conflicting comments between federal and municipal officials have fogged the process even more.
“With the new Building Canada Plan, just like with the previous one, the provinces prioritize the projects,” said Michele-Jamali Paquette, director of communications for federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel.
“The process does not deviate from the previous program that municipalities across Canada know and have used over the past seven years,” she said.
“We are working closely with provinces, territories and municipalities to identify their priority projects and approve federal funding support. The FCM was invited to every stakeholder roundtable and were extensively consulted throughout the process.”
But the problem was not just about the consultative process leading up to the launch of the new Building Canada Fund, according to sources. The concerns, before and after the launch at the end of March, had more to do with a lack of details on the timing and on who gets what and when from Ottawa.
The lion’s share of projects for municipalities is meant to be provincially vetted, before being sent to Ottawa for final approval. Yet, despite repeated requests from the FCM for more planning information, the federal government only released details of the program on the morning of March 28, a Friday, and launched the program that afternoon — leaving provinces to scramble to get the process in place.
So far, sources say, all provinces are still struggling to open up the application process.
As it turns out, a small portion of the overall fund — $4-billion for national infrastructure projects such as seaports, airports and border-crossing facilities — is a federal responsibility and applications were ready for processing on April 1.
“[Finance’s] Mr. Lebel said, ‘don’t worry, don’t worry. Everything is going to be in place for April 1.’ But the problem is, that’s not the case,” said Mr. Dauphin.
“So, they have no plan and now it’s silence for us, or — even worse — the application process could still be a long time away,” he said.
“I’m asking for all the parties to work together, and to sit down and find a solution. We [municipalities] own more than 65% of all the infrastructure in Canada. I think the federal government has to make sure that communities get a fair share of that money.”
The FCM says it will decide its next move during its annual general meeting at the end of May, when 2,000 members will gather in Niagara Falls.
Original Article
Source: business.financialpost.com/
Author: Gordon Isfeld
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