• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Saturday, February 4, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Canada Fact Check
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • Premium Content
  • Premium Store
  • Canadian Politics
    • Federal Feature Posts
  • Ontario Politics
    • Ontario Feature Posts
  • U.S./Global Politics
    • American Feature Posts
  • Corporate Watch
    • Corporate Watch Feature Posts
  • Premium Content
  • Premium Store
  • Canadian Politics
    • Federal Feature Posts
  • Ontario Politics
    • Ontario Feature Posts
  • U.S./Global Politics
    • American Feature Posts
  • Corporate Watch
    • Corporate Watch Feature Posts
No Result
View All Result
Canada Fact Check
No Result
View All Result
Home Economy

Federal News Highlights and Parliamentary Business for October 21

by Ethan Phillips
October 21, 2016
in Economy
0
0
SHARES
42
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Federal News Highlight: Advisory Council on Economic Growth

A panel led by a consultant with close ties to the Liberal government is calling for the government to create a national infrastructure bank capitalized with $40-billion in federal funds.

The Advisory Council on Economic Growth released three reports calling for the national infrastructure bank, a new agency to attract foreign investment and a massive increase in immigration. The council is chaired by Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Co., a business consulting firm operating globally.

But it is the call for the infrastructure bank that is creating the most buzz on Bay St. and in international finance circles.

At the heart of the Council’s proposal for an infrastructure bank is the belief that the bank could raise private capital at a four-to-one ratio from pension funds, foreign sovereign wealth funds, private equity, insurance companies and other institutional investors.

Ottawa’s previous efforts to attract private infrastructure investment – including through an agency focused on public-private partnerships called PPP Canada – have had limited success. Bay St. insiders say Canadian projects to date have simply not been big enough with too few opportunities for providing the kind of returns that private investors demand.

Examples of potential projects to be funded by the bank listed in the report include toll highways and bridges, high-speed rail, port and airport expansions, city infrastructure, national broadband infrastructure, power transmission and natural resource infrastructure.

In addition to the government’s initial capitalization and private capital, the report also says the bank could issue infrastructure bonds as a way of raising additional funds to invest. Another key recommendation is a suggestion that Ottawa should privatize – in full or in part – some of its existing assets as a way of raising money that could be spent on other infrastructure priorities.

That advice comes as the government recently hired Credit Suisse AG to analyze several privatization options for Canadian airports.

According to the Star’s Paul Wells, Canadian Union of Public Employees president Mark Hancock said in a statement that he strongly opposes the call for an infrastructure bank and asset privatization, calling it “a recipe for the cannibalization of Canada’s public infrastructure.”

“Nowhere in the report does it mention that investors in these schemes demand a much higher rate of return than the government can borrow at,” he said, warning it will lead to new user fees on Canadians.

Hancock’s concerns are certainly given credence in the fine print of the report where the Council talks at length about creating new revenue streams in infrastructure projects that currently have no mechanism for providing a return to private investors. It is common knowledge on Bay St. and in foreign financial circles that the reason much of the available $13 trillion in foreign capital hasn’t been invested in Canadian infrastructure is because the investment returns  are not attractive to that kind of investor.

That said, one way or another Canadians will have to pay more than they do now if private investors are going to get the kind of returns that they demand. Moreover, nowhere in the report does it acknowledge that if new revenue streams can be created to give private (and mainly foreign) capital the returns that it wants, then those very same new revenue streams can be created to increase government returns for 100% publically-owned infrastructure projects.

More on infrastructure in a Canada Fact Check feature post in the near future!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Projected House Business for Friday, Oct. 21 (subject to change):

Main Chamber Business

The House is meeting between 10:00p.m. – 2:00 p.m. today.

  • 10:00 a.m. – Government Business: Bill C-26: An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act and the Income Tax Act may be debated at Second Reading. Watch Here!
  • 11:15 – Question Period. Watch Here!
  • 3:15 – Government Business: Supply Motion may be debated. Watch Here!

Projected Committee Business for Thursday, Oct. 20

  • 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. – The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security is meeting in Halifax to examine Canada’s National Security Framework
  • 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. – The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security is meeting in Halifax to examine Canada’s National Security Framework
  • Get a full list of House committee meetings scheduled for today on the House committee page.

Search the full text, approval status, committee hearings and other details of all Federal bills from the current session here!

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips is the editor of Canada Fact Check and a practicing public policy and government relations consultant with 35 years experience researching, writing and consulting on Canadian and global public policy issues. He can be reached at Canadafactcheck@gmail.com.

Next Post

Ontario News Highlights and Legislative Agenda for October 24

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

support quality journalism

Support Quality Journalism

Make a Donation

Get Canada Fact Check Updates Via Email!

Get Canada Fact Check updates on new posts and other breaking news delivered free to your inbox!

Category

  • American Feature Posts
  • American Politics
  • Auto Insurance
  • Business
  • Corporate Watch
  • Corporate Watch Feature Posts
  • Democratic Reform
  • Economic policy
  • Economy
  • Energy/Natural Resources
  • Environment
  • Federal Feature Posts
  • Federal Politics
  • Health
  • Infrastructure/ Transportation
  • Justice
  • Labour
  • Ontario Feature Posts
  • Ontario Politics
  • Pensions
  • Premium Content
  • Taxes/Budget
  • Uncategorized

About Us

Canada Fact Check is an independent news platform dedicated to transparency, democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility.

The editor of Canada Fact Check is Ethan Phillips, a practicing public policy and government relations consultant with 35 years experience researching, writing and consulting on Canadian and global public policy issues.

Inquiries and tips for news stories are welcome and can be sent to: canadafactcheck@gmail.com.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

© 2019 Canada Fact Check. Designed by Web Sharx Webmaster: Empower You Web Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium Content
  • Premium Store
  • Canadian Politics
    • Federal Feature Posts
  • Ontario Politics
    • Ontario Feature Posts
  • U.S./Global Politics
    • American Feature Posts
  • Corporate Watch
    • Corporate Watch Feature Posts

© 2019 Canada Fact Check. Designed by Web Sharx Webmaster: Empower You Web Solutions Inc.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Get free notification of all new posts and a round-up of the week’s top stories!