The Finance Minister's Speech

The Toronto Star reported:

What PM, premier discussed at secret talks

Infrastructure: Harper reportedly indicated that a major new federal infrastructure program is forthcoming that will be weighted in favour of Ontario to help with improvements at border crossings, especially Windsor-Detroit.

As I said before, once the Federal election is over, watch for the Senior Levels do what they want as they push Windsor aside. And our friends in high places, thanks to Eddie, who will help us are....?

If you want to know what is really going to happen, you need to know what the money man will do ie the Federal Finance Minister. Here are excerpts from his speech that he delivered recently that are relevant to Windsor:

• 1) Every year millions of trucks run along the 401 corridor from Montreal to Windsor directly through the heart of the GTA. According to transportation experts in Canada and the U.S, the 401 at highway 400 is the busiest piece of highway in the entire world. Because of 18 hour a day stop and go traffic, it’s been called a "linear warehouse, " full of goods destined for millions of consumers worldwide, seven days a week.
  
  We must ask ourselves, how much more traffic can the GTA handle? There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that we surpassed our limit long ago and are heading down a road that is neither desirable nor sustainable.
  
  2) Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that within 100 days of taking office our government took significant steps to address this issue.
  
  In Budget 2006 we committed significant dollars to transportation infrastructure and public transit.
  
  Over the next four years, we will invest a total of $16.5 billion in new infrastructure initiatives, including $3.5 billion in 2006 and $3.9 billion in 2007.
  
  The budget provided $2.4 billion over the next five years for a new highways and border infrastructure fund, which will be used to improve key infrastructure such as the Windsor-Detroit Gateway. The Prime Minister and Minister Emerson recently announced $591 million for Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative.
  
  Under the Canada-Ontario Agreement the province will receive an additional $300 million for infrastructure. And this fall we provided $900 million to the provinces for public transit, which includes $351.5 million for Ontario alone.
  
  3) As part of the discussions to restore fiscal balance, the Government committed to adopting a long-term funding framework for infrastructure. The federal government has a huge stake in that ensuring the flow of people, goods and vehicles—these are key to ensuring a vibrant and dynamic national economy, something of great concern for this Government. In today’s interdependent world of trade and security, modern, smart infrastructure is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
  
  Under the leadership of Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lawrence Cannon, the government has been consulting with the provinces and territories and reviewing the scope and design of the various federal infrastructure programs to ensure they are accountable and strategic in approach.
  
  I understand he is just wrapping up his work and will be providing me with a report shortly.
  
  I think you would all agree that it’s time to set out on this important journey. It’s time to blaze a trail to infrastructure renewal. It’s time to ensure that rhetoric never again takes precedence over action. The goals are too important and the consequences of inaction too severe.
  
  Over the past several months my staff and I have been consulting with community leaders throughout the GTA. We have spoken to Mayors, Regional Chairs, Municipal Councilors, University and College Presidents, Police Chiefs and various community groups.
  
  We asked them to share their ideas, to list their priorities, and provide us with insight into transportation projects that will benefit their communities now and years from now. At the end of the process, we compiled a list of vital projects that are worthy of consideration. I will have more to say on this in the not-too-distant future.
  
  Investing in transportation infrastructure is about more than roads and bridges and buses and trains. It’s about keeping our country moving. It’s about creating a seamless, modern, safe and secure transportation system. It’s about reducing unnecessary highway travel and providing transportation options so goods can get to market on time, without massive losses in productivity. It’s about using the human and financial resources of both the public and private sectors so that major infrastructure projects are built efficiently and effectively with a minimum of taxpayer funding.
  
  We are embarking on a journey that is not for the faint of heart. It will require all of the political will and cooperation we can muster. It will require innovation, new approaches and new ways of thinking. It will require, not only the resources and expertise of the public sector, but the wealth of experience and knowledge accumulated by those in the private sector. We must engage those who have designed and constructed some of the most complex and successful transportation projects around the globe.
  
  We must rethink our approach so that we can take advantage of P3s, innovative financing and land value capture. It’s time, not just to think outside the box, but to reinvent the box.
  
  This is our path to a reduction in traffic congestion, improved air quality, better communities and a stronger local and national economy.