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Section I: Overview

Minister’s Message

Lawrence Cannon

As Canada’s Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, I am pleased to present Infrastructure Canada’s 2008-09 Report on Plans and Priorities.

Infrastructure Canada is a key organization in the larger Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio. The portfolio’s work helps build our economy, contributes to a better environment, and helps make our communities better places in which to live.

This report outlines the initiatives Infrastructure Canada will undertake over the next three fiscal years and reflects the commitment of Canada’s Government to help build a stronger, safer and better Canada through world-class public infrastructure.

The Government of Canada is acting on commitments made in Budget 2007 and in Advantage Canada by implementing a long-term infrastructure plan based on advice received during consultations with provinces, territories, the municipal sector and stakeholders.

The Building Canada plan supports the Government of Canada’s priorities – a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and more prosperous, safer communities.

Through Building Canada, the Government of Canada is embarking on the largest infrastructure development program in over half a century.

The $33 billion national plan will pave the way to efficient and sustainable public infrastructure. The Building Canada plan will support economic growth and productivity, improve Canada’s competitiveness, and facilitate the movement of people and goods.

Building Canada is a powerful tool to help protect and clean the environment. The plan will contribute to this governmental priority. Building Canada will produce results in areas that matter to Canadians such as cleaner air, better transit, safe drinking water and renewable energy.

Infrastructure Canada will work with partners and provinces to deliver the program that will provide predictable funding to restore and upgrade infrastructure in communities across the country. This long-term and stable funding will be invested in infrastructure priorities through to 2014.

Under the Building Canada plan, the federal government will work with provinces, territories, municipalities and the private sector to build sustainable infrastructure. Infrastructure Canada will negotiate framework agreements with the provinces and territories that will set the stage for funds to flow to infrastructure projects. In fact, a number of priority projects have already been identified for funding under the plan.

Canadians look to the Government of Canada to lead the way to a healthier and safer Canada. Building Canada will help ensure Canada is strongly positioned for prosperity, global competitiveness and a sustainable, healthy society well into the 21^st century.

Infrastructure Canada is committed to reporting on results and to improving accountability to Parliament and Canadians. I encourage all who read this report and follow our progress in implementing the Building Canada plan to visit buildingcanada.gc.ca

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

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Management Representation Statement

I submit for tabling in Parliament, the 2008-09 Report on Plans and Priorities for Infrastructure Canada.

This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Guide for the Preparation of Part III of the 2008-09 Estimates: Reports on Plans and Priorities and Departmental Performance Reports:

• It adheres to the specific reporting requirements outlined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat guidance;
  
• It is based on Infrastructure Canada’s strategic outcome and program activities that were approved by the Treasury Board;
  
• It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and reliable information;
  
• It provides a basis of accountability for the results achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
  
• It reports finances based on approved planned spending numbers from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Signed:
	Louis Ranger
Title:	Deputy Head Office of Infrastructure of Canada

This Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP) presents concise information on Infrastructure Canada’s plans and priorities and resources over the next three fiscal years, beginning with fiscal year 2008-09, that will contribute to the achievement of its strategic outcome and expected results.

Raison d’être

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Canada needs to remain competitive and productive while sustaining and improving the quality of life of Canadians. World-class public infrastructure, including safe and reliable water systems and efficient transportation systems that allow goods and people to move freely, is critical to meeting these objectives.

The Government of Canada understands that Canada needs strong and modern infrastructure in order to continue to grow and prosper. No single level of government can address the country’s infrastructure needs alone. That is why the Government of Canada is working with provinces, territories, municipalities, the private sector and various stakeholders to implement the Building Canada plan.

The $33-billion Building Canada plan represents an unprecedented and long-term federal commitment to public infrastructure. The plan will help build a stronger Canada by funding projects designed to deliver results in three areas of national importance:

• a more competitive and productive economy, which can be supported by better infrastructure that, for example, facilitates the flow of goods and people, promotes interprovincial and international trade through gateways and corridors, and increases the use of e-commerce;
  
• a cleaner environment, which can be supported by modern and sustainable infrastructure that, for example, improves water treatment and access to safe drinking water, contributes to a reduction of air pollutants, and encourages efficient land management; and
  
• safer and more prosperous communities, which can be supported by quality infrastructure that, for example, enhances the vitality, safety and quality of life of Canadian communities.

By implementing the Building Canada plan and continuing to manage existing and new funding programs, Infrastructure Canada coordinates several infrastructure initiatives and continues to build the policies, knowledge and partnerships that support them. As well, Infrastructure Canada continues to play a strong role in facilitating governments and others to work in partnership to support a stronger Canada.

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Organizational Information

Mandate

Infrastructure Canada was established in 2002 in order to lead the Government of Canada’s efforts in addressing the infrastructure challenges of the country. Since then, the organization has evolved to become a centre of expertise for issues related to infrastructure in cities, communities and regions across Canada.

Together with Transport Canada, three agencies and 16 Crown corporations, Infrastructure Canada forms the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TIC) portfolio (see Figure 1).¹

The portfolio addresses several key challenges facing Canada, in particular, those relating to our country’s economic growth, the state of the environment, and the safety and prosperity of our communities. These challenges are priorities for the Government of Canada and will continue to guide the activities of the portfolio.

Organizational Structure

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon is the Minister responsible for the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio.

Infrastructure Canada is headed by a Deputy Head, Louis Ranger. The Deputy Head is supported by five Assistant Deputy Ministers:

• Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Communications:
  John Forster.
  
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Special Projects:
  Yazmine Laroche.
  
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations:
  Carol Beal.
  
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services/Chief Financial Officer:
  David Cluff.
  
• Assistant Deputy Minister, Regional Integration:
  Gary Webster.

Infrastructure Canada’s organizational structure is presented in Figure 2.

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1 Transport Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency and the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada produce their own Reports on Plans and Priorities. The quasi-judicial bodies prepare their own annual corporate plans.

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Figure 1: Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Portfolio

Figure 2: Infrastructure Canada Organizational Chart

Program Activity Architecture

Consistent with guidance provided by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, this 2008-09 Report on Plans and Priorities and the accompanying financial tables are presented using the Government’s Program Activity Architecture (PAA) Framework.

Strategic Outcome

In support of its mission, Infrastructure Canada has one Strategic Outcome, which was approved in July 2006:

Infrastructure Canada plans to modify the strategic outcome in 2008-09 to better comply with the new Management, Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) Policy and to better reflect current infrastructure priorities. The proposed new strategic outcome, which will require approval by the Treasury Board, is: Quality, cost-effective public infrastructure that meets the needs of Canadians regarding a competitive economy, a clean environment and livable communities.

Program Activities

Under the PAA, Infrastructure Canada has three program activities:

• Infrastructure Investments;
  
• Policy, Knowledge and Partnership Development; and
  
• Internal Services.

There has been no change in these program activity areas from the previous fiscal year.

Section II provides details on departmental plans under the first two of these program activities. Background information on the third activity, Internal Services, is presented in Section IV of the report, Other Items of Interest.

Voted and Statutory Items

Table 1: Voted and Statutory Items Listed in Main Estimates

(in $ thousands)

Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording	2008-09 Main Estimates	2007-08 Main Estimates
50	Operating expenditures	37,530	27,362
55	Contributions	2,414,778	1,988,017
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	3,229	2,318
Total Department		2,455,537	2,017,697

Planned Spending and Full-time Equivalents

Table 2: Departmental Planned Spending and Full-time Equivalents

(in $ thousands)

	Forecast Spending 2007-08	Planned Spending 2008-09	Planned Spending 2009-10	Planned Spending 2010-11
Infrastructure Investments	2,000,322	2,439,825	2,913,786	529,089
Policy, Knowledge and Partnership Development	17,375	15,712	165	165
Total Main Estimates	2,017,697	2,455,537	2,913,951	529,254
Adjustments:
Supplementary Estimates
Building Canada Fund	-	390,676	1,562,704	1,562,704
Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund	571,877	60,007	59,915	77,251
Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Base Funding Program	326,715	-	-	-
Border Infrastructure Fund	59,763	-	-	-
Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund	124,587	-	-	-
Gas Tax Fund	12,856	-	-	1,974,980
Research, Knowledge and Outreach	526	-	-	-
Operating funds from Infrastructure Programs	7,122	2,492	-	-
Infrastructure Canada Program transfer from Indian Affairs and Northern Development	709	-	-	-
Evaluation	272	-	-	-
Public Service Modernization Act	38	-	-	-
Other
Internal Audit TB Vote 10	110	-	-	-
Collective Bargaining Agreement TB Vote 15	196	-	-	-
Operating Budget Carry Forward TB Vote 22	1,794	-	-	-
Employee Benefit Plan (EBP)	936	-	-	-
Total Adjustments	1,107,499	453,175	1,622,619	3,614,935
Net Planned Spending	3,125,196	2,908,712	4,536,570	4,144,189
Plus: Cost of services received without charge	2,038	1,542	172	172
Total Departmental Spending	3,127,234	2,910,254	4,536,742	4,144,361
Approved Full-time Equivalents	247	257	-	-

Summary Information

Financial and human resources for the organization over the planning period are summarized in Tables 3 and 4.

Table 5 lists Infrastructure Canada’s priorities.

Table 6 summarizes the expected results of the two main program activities, as well as the planned spending under each activity.

Table 3: Total Financial Resources, 2008-09 to 2010-11

(Net Cost of Program in $ thousands)

2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
2,910,254	4,536,742	4,144,361

Table 4: Total Human Resources, 2008-09 to 2010-11

(Full Time Equivalents)

2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
257	-	-

Table 5: Infrastructure Canada’s Priorities

Priority	Type
1. Delivering key elements of the Building Canada plan	New
2. Managing the current suite of infrastructure programs	Ongoing (modified)

Table 6: Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

(in $ thousands)

		Planned Spending			Contributes to the following priority
	Expected Results	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Strategic Outcome: Improving the sustainability of our cities and communities and Canada’s local, regional and national public infrastructure to enhance the economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life of Canadians.					Priorities 1 and 2
Program Activity #1: Infrastructure Investments	Maximize economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits for Canadians through investments in public infrastructure in a coordinated manner with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, and First Nations	2,893,941	4,536,510	4,144,129
Program Activity #2: Policy, Knowledge and Partnership Development	Develop policies to address existing and emerging challenges and opportunities that are based on research and input from strong partnerships	16,314	232	232

Operating Environment

This sub-section briefly describes the external and internal factors that influence Infrastructure Canada’s planning and decision making on a day-to-day basis.

Infrastructure Challenges

Modern, world-class public infrastructure is a key factor in achieving the Government’s goals of a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and better communities.

Infrastructure and the Economy

Canada’s economy is strong, with growth rates that surpass those of all other G-7 nations. However, if Canada is to continue to live up to its potential in a global economy characterized by emerging economic superpowers, international “just-in-time” supply chains and fierce competition, modern, efficient and reliable infrastructure is essential to the country’s prosperity today and for the long-term.

Inadequate infrastructure can deter foreign investors and constrain economic growth. Research shows that inadequate public infrastructure tends to drive away foreign investment more so than quality infrastructure attracts private investment. This, in turn, suggests that public infrastructure is taken “as a given” – something that must be present. In fact, 80% of multinational executives believe that poor infrastructure quality affects Canada as an investment destination.

Public infrastructure is also related to productivity. Congestion, for example, takes a major economic toll – it slows movement of goods and impacts productivity. Transport Canada estimates the total annual cost of congestion in terms of lost time and fuel consumption to be between $2.3 billion and $3.7 billion (in 2002 dollars) for Canada’s nine major urban areas.

Modern, efficient infrastructure is necessary to get Canadian goods and service to global markets, which is critical for Canada, the most trade-dependent nation among the G-7. Exported goods and services account for 38% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005.

More than $1.8 billion in trade crosses the Canada-US border alone each day. In the last decade, trade with the United States has grown by an average of almost 6% a year. Canada’s growing trade with emerging economies, particularly in Asia, is also straining the transportation system. From 1999 to 2004, Canada’s merchandise exports to China grew, on average, by 20% a year. This sharp and sustained rise in trade and traffic puts relentless pressure on major corridors and border crossings, creating bottlenecks and impeding the flow of goods and people. Having the infrastructure in place that allows the transportation system to move people and goods – quickly and reliably – is crucial to Canada’s competitiveness.

Canada’s three largest cities (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver) generate 35% of the country’s GDP, a major factor in the broader Canadian economy. Modern infrastructure also creates employment opportunities and attracts skilled knowledge workers, particularly in Canada’s urban centres, boosting the cities’ growth and competitiveness. Modern, efficient infrastructure providing water, energy, and local transportation, as well as facilities for culture and sports, is critical to attracting people, jobs and investment in communities across Canada.

Infrastructure and the Environment

Maintaining a healthy and sustainable environment is directly related to the well-being and prosperity of Canadians. Infrastructure investments can be a powerful tool for achieving environmental goals. Better infrastructure planning and construction can reduce the impact of human activity, and help protect and improve the environment.

Air pollution is estimated to cause at least 5,000 premature deaths each year in Canada, with personal transportation being among the main causes of air pollution. Shifting a larger portion of this traffic to public transit can improve air quality by providing an alternative to driving that is energy efficient and lower in emissions. A transit rider creates 65% lower greenhouse gas emissions than an auto user for the same trip, and commuters who take transit just twice a week can reduce their emissions by 25%.

Energy generation is another major contributor to air pollution in many areas of the country. In general, Canada has one of the most diversified electricity generation bases in the world, with sources including natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear power, and hydro-electricity and other renewable energy. However, there is an increasing need to make Canada’s energy supplies and technologies cleaner and more efficient.

Water pollution is another major environmental challenge. Wastewater effluents are one of the largest sources of pollution to Canadian waters. Although 84% of inland municipal populations in Canada that are served by sewers receive secondary or tertiary wastewater treatment, a minority of coastal communities served by sewers has only secondary treatment, with most having only primary or no treatment at all. In addition, the cost of treating health problems related to water pollution is estimated at about $300 million per year. Again, effective modern infrastructure is needed to ensure sufficient processing and purification of wastewater, both for the protection of human health and to ensure the long-term viability of Canada’s aquatic environments.

Infrastructure and Communities

Canada’s national strengths are a function of the strengths of its communities, whether large or small, urban or rural. Livable and prosperous communities of all sizes define Canadians’ standard of living, quality of life and overall well-being. These communities must continually adapt to increasingly rapid change, and provide the infrastructure to maintain and improve residents’ quality of life.

In the integrated global economy, Canada’s large cities must compete with other global cities for private-sector capital investment and a skilled workforce. Today’s skilled knowledge workers have high job mobility, picking and choosing the community where they will apply their skills. Cities and communities that provide a high quality of life are therefore able to attract, retain and create the required human capital to remain economically competitive. Talented professionals and investors are attracted to healthy, prosperous, vibrant and safe communities supported by public infrastructure such as public transit, sports facilities, green spaces, and arts and cultural institutions. Although many of Canada’s largest cities consistently rank highly on global quality of life surveys, they face constant pressure to maintain this standing.

Smaller communities also have unique challenges. They must build and maintain the full range of municipal infrastructure regardless of their population size. A lack of reliable and affordable transportation is seen as an obstacle to community development, reducing citizens’ mobility and creating barriers and costs for community and rural businesses. In remote communities, the lack of broadband communications service is another significant deterrent to growth and residents’ quality of life.

An important determinant of a community’s livability is the safety and reliability of its drinking water - an infrastructure issue of growing concern in many centres across Canada, particularly smaller and rural communities.

In addition to other issues facing cities and communities, decades of expansion and industrial development have contributed to a prevalence of “brownfield” sites across Canada. The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy estimates that redevelopment of these sites has the potential to generate up to $7 billion a year in public benefits.

Partnerships

Infrastructure Canada’s operating environment is characterized by a strong reliance on developing and maintaining effective partnerships.

Infrastructure plays a prominent part in maintaining and enhancing the strength and quality of communities. Canadians list the environment, health and local infrastructure – particularly safe water, transit and roads – among their priority concerns.

Canadians expect all orders of government to cooperate to ensure that Canada has a modern, world-class public infrastructure. They also expect the federal government to demonstrate leadership in bringing governments, the private sector and other interests together in support of national objectives.

Federal Partners

As the lead federal department responsible for infrastructure policy development and program delivery, Infrastructure Canada collaborates with other federal departments and agencies. In particular, it works closely with Transport Canada on a range of initiatives under the TIC portfolio. Transport Canada, for example, is the lead department on two key elements of the Building Canada plan – the Gateways and Border Crossings Fund and the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative.

Major federal partners include Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (the delivery agent for the First Nations Infrastructure Fund), Industry Canada, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. Other federal partners include Environment Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing, and Public Works and Government Services Canada for broader issues in support of contributing to better communities. These departments and agencies share their knowledge of local needs and priorities, as well as their technical expertise, resources and governance structures and are critical to the organization’s ability to fulfill its mandate.

Working with Other Jurisdictions and Partners

In addition to federal partners, Infrastructure Canada collaborates with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as universities, research institutes, civil society organizations, the private sector and other experts. This collaboration is intended to:

• better manage partnership-funded public infrastructure projects;
  
• maintain and generate new, horizontal initiatives relating to infrastructure and place-based issues;
  
• develop a stronger, more multi-disciplinary research community that can provide support for policy and decision makers in the multiple sectors involved in addressing Canada’s infrastructure needs; and
  
• disseminate and communicate knowledge about infrastructure to key partners.

Public-Private Partnerships

Experience around the world has shown that properly designed public-private partnerships (P3s) can deliver public infrastructure more efficiently, with relatively lower costs, faster completion, and better management of project risks. At the same time, appropriate public control can be preserved.

While Canada has made some progress in the use of P3s with the development of some high profile projects (including the Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, and the Canada Line transit project in British Columbia), when measured against comparable western jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom or Australia, Canada generally lags behind in the use of P3s. In fact, Canadian pension funds are often investing in public infrastructure projects in other countries as a result of a lack of P3 opportunities to be found within Canada.

With Budget 2007, the Government of Canada announced that it will take a leadership role in developing P3 opportunities within Canada through two initiatives. The first is the $1.25 billion Public Private Partnerships Fund. This program will support innovative projects that provide an alternative to traditional government infrastructure procurement. The P3 Fund will help expand infrastructure financing alternatives in Canada, provide incentives to attract investments from the private sector, and increase knowledge and expertise in alternative financing.

In addition, the Government of Canada is committing $25 million over five years to establish a federal P3 Office. The P3 Office will facilitate a broader use of P3s in Canadian infrastructure projects, including through the identification of P3 opportunities at the federal level. The Building Canada plan also encourages the development and use of P3 best practices by requiring that P3s be given consideration in larger infrastructure projects funded through the Gateways and Border Crossings Fund and by the Building Canada Fund.²

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2 A separate P3 initiative involving federal government procurement is under development by Treasury Board and Public Works and Government Services Canada.

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Improving Understanding of Infrastructure Issues

Enhanced understanding of infrastructure issues is essential for achieving the federal government’s goal of having modern and efficient 21^st Century infrastructure across the country. Improving knowledge and awareness of infrastructure challenges in support of sound policy and decision making is increasingly important for several reasons:

• The policy environment for infrastructure has changed dramatically in recent decades. This is the consequence of, among other factors, technological and materials advances, the heightened profile of issues such as climate change and the dual forces of globalization and continental economic integration, and the introduction of new environment, safety and health regulations and other governance mechanisms.
  
• Important knowledge gaps exist regarding both infrastructure and its impacts on communities, including the state and performance of Canada’s core infrastructure, and the economic, social, cultural and environmental effects of infrastructure at the community level.
  
• Challenges remain in increasing the understanding of infrastructure issues among Canadians, generating awareness of the federal contribution to infrastructure in Canada, and getting research to practitioners as well as improving the state of practice in the field.
  
• Pressures on existing infrastructure continue to mount due to increased movement of goods, services and people, as well as climate change impacts. At the same time, consistent with a general trend among highly industrialized countries, public capital investment as a percentage of GDP has dropped steadily since the mid-1970s.
  
• The concept of infrastructure itself has evolved. The infrastructure required to support the efficient functioning of a knowledge-based economy and society characterized by increasingly tight economic linkages with its neighbor to the south has become much more complex.
  
• The nature of infrastructure projects has also changed over recent decades. Today’s projects now tend to feature increased technical, planning, legal and financial complexities.

These trends have direct implications for the role of government in infrastructure. They call for a solid foundation of knowledge, research and expertise to support sound policy decisions. They also point to the need for continued and expanded efforts to promote knowledge transfer and dissemination to encourage the uptake of new integrated knowledge by policymakers and end-users.

Plans and Priorities

Infrastructure Canada has established two priorities in support of its Strategic Outcome:

1. Delivering key elements of the Building Canada plan; and

2. Managing the current suite of infrastructure programs.

These priorities have been changed from the 2007-08 RPP:

• Priority 1 is new, representing the fact that Infrastructure Canada is responsible for Building Canada, the government’s new comprehensive, long-term plan to modernize Canada’s public infrastructure and for delivering keys elements and funds of this plan.
  
• Priority 2 is an ongoing priority, to ensure the sound management of infrastructure investments and “sunsetting” programs.

Priority 1: Delivering key elements of the Building Canada plan

Building Canada

As outlined in Budget 2007 and reaffirmed in the October 2007 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada’s new Building Canada plan will support the development of world-class modern infrastructure.

More than 50% of the total funding under the plan will be base funding of $17 billion for municipalities, including the Gas Tax Fund (GTF), which has been extended to 2014. The GTF focuses on investments in environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure that promote national objectives of cleaner air, cleaner water and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, as well as capacity building to support the development of Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs). Municipalities will continue to receive through the Canada Revenue Agency the 100% GST rebate, which will provide flexible funding. In addition, they will be eligible for specific project funding under other infrastructure programming to meet their infrastructure priorities.

Infrastructure Canada will be responsible, within the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio, for delivering the following key elements of the plan:

• $8.8 billion for the new Building Canada Fund (BCF), which will go towards major projects as well as projects in smaller communities;
  
• $25 million a year in provincial-territorial base funding for a total of $2.275 billion over seven years; and
  
• $11.8 billion for the GTF.

Transport Canada is responsible for several other key elements of the plan, including $2.1 billion for the new Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, and $1 billion in funding for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. For more information on the plan, see www.buildingcanada.gc.ca

Federal support under Building Canada will total $33 billion over the period 2007-08 to 2013-14, including the $16 billion in infrastructure funding provided in Budget 2006 and the $17 billion in Budget 2007. Table 7 shows the allocation of the $33 billion over the period.

Table 7: Building Canada Plan 2007-2014

Infrastructure Fund	Allocation
Municipal GST Rebate	$5.8B
Gas Tax Fund	$11.8B
Building Canada Fund	$8.8B
Public-Private Partnerships Fund	$1.25B
Gateways and Border Crossings Fund	$2.1B
Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative	$1.0B
Provincial-Territorial Base Funding	$2.275B
Total	$33B

In implementing the plan, Infrastructure Canada will continue to work with federal departments and regional development agencies, and provincial, territorial and municipal governments. The Government of Canada is moving quickly to finalize agreements with provinces and territories.

In support of this priority in 2008-09, Infrastructure Canada also will:

• finalize all necessary authorities to implement the Building Canada programs;
  
• conclude framework agreements with each province and territory; these agreements will promote cooperation and coordination on infrastructure issues and programs and establish a joint federal-provincial/territorial Framework Committee that will oversee implementation of Building Canada in each jurisdiction;
  
• conclude funding agreements for the Communities Component of the BCF and establish a competitive application process to receive and jointly assess investment proposals;
  
• conclude funding agreements for the provincial-territorial base funding with each jurisdiction;
  
• conclude project specific agreements for major projects under the BCF;
  
• design and implement an appropriate program to deliver the BCF to First Nations;
  
• extend GTF agreements to reflect the additional $8 billion in Gas Tax funding committed in Budget 2007 for 2010-14;
  
• manage the implementation of GTF agreements, including the coordination and collaboration with provinces, territories and municipalities for its administration;
  
• conduct joint evaluations of the GTF program with signatories to assess the success and effectiveness of the program to date;
  
• working with its domestic and international partners to ensure efficiency in the plan’s delivery, ensure the sound administration and management of the funding initiatives under the plan; and
  
• work with the Department of Finance to launch the P3 Fund.

Policy, Knowledge and Partnerships

In support of Building Canada, Infrastructure Canada will continue to collaborate with the provinces and territories, municipalities, First Nations and other partners and stakeholders to develop strategic policies based on sound knowledge and strong partnerships. Support for research, knowledge and capacity-building will be integrated to promote innovation and progress in delivering world-class public infrastructure and address infrastructure knowledge gaps and emerging issues.

Planned initiatives in 2008-09 in support of this priority include:

• facilitating and contributing to federal policy analysis and the development of options for federal priorities impacting infrastructure initiatives and other issues related to cities and communities, in collaboration with other federal departments and other stakeholders;
  
• strengthening collaboration with provinces, territories and municipalities through, for example, federal-provincial/territorial framework agreements;
  
• implementing the Strategic Research and Partnerships component of the Building Canada Fund to support research, knowledge and capacity-building;
  
• supporting research collaboration with the National Research Council and the National Round Table on Sustainable Infrastructure to enhance understanding of the state and performance of Canada’s core infrastructure;
  
• continuing to manage and disseminate the research from the two components of the Research, Knowledge, and Outreach Program (the Knowledge-building, Outreach and Awareness program and the Peer Reviewed Research Studies funding program) and monitoring the progress of funded research;
  
• supporting the building of municipal capacity to facilitate the completion of ICSPs required under the GTF;
  
• maintaining and enhancing strong partnerships with regional development agencies and other partners for the delivery of programs and projects; and
  
• continuing to work with key international bodies on infrastructure issues and best practices, for example the current review of Toronto by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in partnership with Ontario and the City of Toronto.

Priority 2: Managing the current suite of infrastructure programs

Infrastructure Canada continues to manage and leverage five established infrastructure investment funds to improve the state of Canada’s public infrastructure and, in turn, enhance the economic, social, cultural and environmental quality of life of Canadians. Infrastructure Canada will continue to work in a coordinated manner with other federal departments and agencies, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, and First Nations in delivering these funds, which are scheduled to wind down (sunset) over the next several years.

The “sunsetting” funds are:

• the Infrastructure Canada Program (ICP);
  
• the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF);
  
• the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF);
  
• the Border Infrastructure Fund (BIF); and
  
• the Public Transit Fund (PTF).

In support of this priority in 2008-09, Infrastructure Canada plans to:

• continue with the sound administration of the funding programs in cooperation with its federal delivery partners, including following up on program audit reports where recommendations for corrective actions are required;
  
• complete management responses on mid-term evaluations, where required; and
  
• continue working with the provinces and territories to determine the projects to receive remaining uncommitted funds under the CSIF and MRIF.

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