The Trudeau government does not keep his promise

Archival Photo, QMI Agency

Andrea Valeria ,
Marie-Christine Trottier and
Émilie Bergeron

Saturday, 31 march, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 31 march, 2018 01:00

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Flush out the false news, to verify the statements of politicians, find the real numbers : the research staff of our investigation agency, based in Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa, are experts in the art of re-establish the facts. Each Saturday, they will present their findings to allow you to see more clearly in the events of the week.

The statement

The federal minister of Infrastructure, Amarjeet Sohi, promised last summer that the agreements regarding the financing of infrastructure would be concluded in march 2018 at the latest, ” with each province and territory.

These agreements are needed to decide between a $ 33 billion of public funds over ten years for large, long-term projects, such as initiatives for public transport.

This is the phase 2 of the plan to Invest in Canada.

Precisely, Quebec said this week, which projects it wishes to give priority to receive funds from Ottawa, such as the extension of the blue line of the Montreal metro (subway) and the network structure of Quebec.

The facts

The deadline for concluding the agreements is today, and no agreement shall be binding on the two levels of government.

Phase 2 of the famous infrastructure plan of the Trudeau government, therefore, acknowledge a delay.

The minister Sohi has even acknowledged on Wednesday that the federal government has not respected the timetable it had set for itself.

Eight provinces and one territory are still without an agreement, but the minister Sohi ensures that everything will be settled ” in a few weeks “. He adds that no particular problem arises for Québec.

As to the first phase of the plan, it does not promise anything good.

Two years after the beginning of the initial stage, mainly focusing on short-term projects, we still do not know where to go half of the 14.4 G$ expected, according to a report from the parliamentary budget officer presented Thursday.