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Results: 241 - 270 of 295
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, if we check the record of how this pipeline got approved, we see that we expanded the consultation with indigenous people. They are entitled to their views. There is a considerable amount of support for the project. This is an important project to get oil to tidewater.
The members on this side of the House are entitled to their opinion and those from B.C. are entitled to theirs. They are entitled to advocate within caucus. Some support it, and the record shows that some do not. This is an open and transparent government, and people are entitled to their opinion. The decision has been taken to approve the project. We will be very careful in how it is implemented and we will work with the proponent in all communities that are touched by this project in order to make sure it is done in the most effective, transparent, open, and safe way.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker,
[Member spoke in Mohawk and provided the following translation:]
I pay my respects to you who have gathered here. I stand here to honour the Mohawk language and I pay my respects to their people. Let us pay respects to the Creator for everything he has given to us that we may live peacefully.
I am proud to stand here and speak to you in the Mohawk language. Hopefully it will help us to become better friends. I also hope that we will hear the Mohawk language a lot more often here and that more Canadians will be proud to use it to speak to one another.
I pay my respects to you, the master of this house.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 1642, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve founded the colony of Ville Marie near the Mohawk village of Hochelaga, or Tiohtià:ke, on the Island of Montreal. Today, I am honoured to celebrate the anniversary of the city I grew up in and continue to discover every day.
Today Montreal is an international beacon for coexistence where communities hailing from far and wide live together in mutual respect, welcoming people who need a new home, such as those escaping the Irish great famine, the atrocities of the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and, more recently, the Syrian civil war.
Montreal is all about multiculturalism. It has something for everyone and is the place to go for everything, from smoked meat and Vietnamese noodle soup to poutine. The Montreal flag features the French fleur-de-lys, the English rose, the Scottish thistle, and the Irish shamrock. For its anniversary, the City of Montreal intends to add an indigenous symbol to the flag, and we commend it for that effort.
Montreal, happy 375th birthday. The future is bright.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a platform to invest in a historic infrastructure plan, including developing an infrastructure bank.
The infrastructure bank would engage private capital to build better public transit, energy transmission, trade corridors, and more across Canada. By engaging private capital in these projects, our investments will go further and free up more funding for the record investments we are making in things like social housing, disaster mitigation, women's shelters, and clean water and waste-water systems.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we value the expertise that those in the private sector can offer and thank those on the economic advisory council for their advice, for example.
We have engaged a number of actors across the country, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, unions, provinces, territories, indigenous peoples, engineers, construction firms, and more. We are proud of this level of engagement on the infrastructure bank design. From someone who comes from the private sector, for me this is absolutely a no-brainer.
We look forward to continuing to speak with a wide range of actors. We will continue to do so, all in the interest of Canadians.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a promise to make historic investments worth $180 billion to build Canada for the 21st century.
The session organized with BlackRock lasted just a few hours last fall, but we spent hundreds of hours consulting groups like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, unions, the provinces and territories, academics, engineers, construction firms, and more.
We are proud of the scope of our consultation on the development of this bank. We look forward to continuing our discussions with various groups, while we implement this important initiative.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, if we mobilize private sector dollars to build new infrastructure projects, our investments will generate more spinoffs while freeing up public funds to invest even more in priorities such as social housing, disaster mitigation, women's shelters, drinking water, and wastewater treatment.
We believe that this bank will benefit Canadian municipalities of all sizes, like the one represented by the member opposite, and we will continue to work with our partners to build better infrastructure and make good things happen for Canada in the 21st century.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, this is an important question to be asked. Indeed the infrastructure bank is an effort to leverage private capital in projects where we see fit. Again, let me remind the hon. member that these projects are put forward to us and these are projects that we will, through the infrastructure bank, examine and make the right choices for Canadians. By engaging private capital in these projects, our investments will go further and free up more funding for the record investments we are making in things of importance to the member opposite, such as social housing, disaster mitigation, women's shelters, and the like.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we value the expertise that those in the private sector can offer and thank those people who have been giving us this input. If we are going to offer options to the private sector, we indeed need to consult these people and get their input and feedback as we put our best foot forward in how to leverage that private capital.
It bears reminding the member that the session with BlackRock lasted only a few hours, but we spent hundreds of hours consulting on the infrastructure bank, including with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, unions, provinces, territories, academics, engineers, construction firms, and more.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, this bears repeating.
The session with BlackRock last fall lasted only a few hours, but we spent hundreds of hours consulting stakeholders such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, unions, the provinces and territories, indigenous peoples, academics, engineers, construction firms, and more.
For those in the private sector, this consultation process is an extremely important part of making decisions about investments that will be leveraged to mobilize more infrastructure money to improve the lives of Canadians and Quebeckers.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, in-depth studies require consultation with many people, as I said earlier. I will not repeat myself.
We must consult the private sector, which will make those investments. It is worth mentioning that the KPMG report, just one of the reports we saw and examined, stated that the Canada infrastructure bank will accelerate economic development and growth, create major national projects, and ensure quick decision-making, considering the development that Canada needs now and in the future.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, the location, while key to developing and working with our private proponents, is not of capital importance, insofar as we need to focus more on the historic infrastructure that we are making and the capital that we are freeing up in order to put forth our transformative infrastructure plans for Canadians.
Toronto was chosen among other cities because it has great access to private players. That is one of the options that we entertained, and it is one of many options that we may have had, including Montreal, Halifax, and others. Calgary certainly is a great place for private capital, a great place for investment, and that is why we are investing in Alberta.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her advocacy on behalf of small communities. Indeed, on this side of the House we took note and we put $2 billion into classical modelling of infrastructure in rural and northern communities and we plan to deliver on that promise.
The assumption that the infrastructure bank will invest solely in large projects in large cities is false. There are potentialities for transmission lines and hydro projects in the north, taking the north off diesel or coal, or rural communities where needed, where we consult with the parties and they feel that is necessary.
That is simply one option in the tool box we have for transformative infrastructure.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is precisely the point. She seemed to suggest in her speech that only large communities can benefit from large projects and that rural and smaller communities cannot. In the case specifically of getting communities off diesel or coal, these are projects that may be of some interest to the bank itself, but also to the $2 billion in specific project funding for traditional infrastructure we have for smaller and northern communities.
I wonder whether the hon. member has actually given consideration to that thought and believes we can actually have larger projects in smaller communities, as we plan to do, where it is feasible, in our budget plan. Had she given any sort of consideration to that before she spoke today?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her speech and her criticisms of the bank. That is what we are here for. Both of Her Majesty's loyal oppositions do an earnest job in holding us to account, and I thank them for their advocacy.
It should come as no surprise that we are investing all over Canada. In the area of Saskatoon alone, we have 13 projects, with a total eligible cost of about $60-plus million, half of which is the federal contribution. These are things I hope the member will admit are critical for the development of the Saskatoon area. Indeed, the mayors and city councillors are over the hills about these investments, which have been underfunded for so long.
There seems to be a fear of the private sector. Pushed to its limit, the suggestion is that we would have to build all these projects, even in our classical funding model, all by ourselves. That is not the case. We work with partners, and they contribute to our understanding of needs. Indeed, we defer to the provinces and municipalities for their expertise as to which projects are selected.
Has the member read the legislation? It took me half an hour. It is not buried anywhere in an omnibus bill. It is an easy read. I am glad to sit down and work with her. To truly understand the functioning of the bank, it is worth that half-hour sit-down. Has she read the legislation?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her advocacy for her community. I heard the passion with which she expressed her concern for development, particularly in social housing. These are needs in any city and most communities. In mine, for example, it is up to 30% or 40% in certain areas and boroughs.
These are the things we need to be fighting for and that is why we have a classical infrastructure model of up to $180 billion. This is why we will not be using private capital in most circumstances to leverage these purchases and construction. We will be working with private partners and we will be looking to work with private partners for these things. In some areas it will make sense and in some areas it will not.
Has the member talked to any community members for projects that will make sense in her riding, will make sense for the Vancouver area? We recently announced projects in the Vancouver area of $300 million, half of which are federally funded. Again, not all of those are privately leveraged, but there are circumstances where we will be building more infrastructure in order to build bigger projects, more projects in communities where they need it and where it makes sense to allow private partners to participate, but it is not all of them. It is 8% of our classical funding model. Perhaps the member could consult with members in her party because the projects themselves come from the proponents and they are not pushed by the bank in and of itself.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I would first like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe.
It is an honour to stand in the House today to speak about the important work our government is doing to support our municipalities' infrastructure investments for the 21st century.
In budget 2016, we launched the first phase of the plan, which is designed to achieve three major objectives: encouraging long-term economic growth, building inclusive communities, and supporting a low carbon emission green economy.
The initial phase focused on repairing and modernizing existing infrastructure. It also provided for financing the design and planning stages of new large-scale projects.
That first phase has been successful. Through Infrastructure Canada's two funds, the $2 billion clean water and waste water fund, and the $3.4 billion public transit infrastructure fund, the Government of Canada has supported 1,760 projects across the country. Over 70% of these projects are currently under way.
When we first took office, we made a commitment to Canadians and Canadian municipalities to be transparent and to make strategic evidence-based investments in infrastructure. We knew the best way to do this was in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities, indigenous peoples, and key stakeholders, so we met with them. We talked to them, and we continue to talk to all our partners and stakeholders. We know the best way to be successful is to ensure that the work we are doing and the plans we are putting forward are based on the needs and expectations of the people it is meant to serve.
As the Prime Minister said in the House on Tuesday, we ensure we talk to people, like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the big cities mayors' caucus, and to engineering and construction industry members. Last week, I spoke to a group of mayors from the UMQ, who put forward their views on our project, and they were very positive about it. With their valuable input and contributions, we were able to develop our long-term infrastructure plan, which we call “investing in Canada”, through which we will invest over $180 billion over 12 years.
Our plan focuses on five key areas: public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation, and rural and northern communities. It also features two new initiatives: the smart cities challenge, which I spoke to the mayor and guests about yesterday in Toronto; and the Canada infrastructure bank.
When we were developing the Canada infrastructure bank, we also met with groups like the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. We knew the importance of having the experts at the table from the very beginning. That is also why I would like to commend the House of Commons and Senate committees that are looking into the bank very carefully. The bank is being reviewed by four distinct committees. I would like to thank those members for their time and hard work on the matter.
The Canada infrastructure bank is a new tool for communities across Canada to take advantage of in order to build strong and stronger communities.
We are proposing the Canada infrastructure bank because we believe that the federal government has an opportunity to make a place for itself among the many private sector investments in infrastructure and to form partnerships with some of the largest institutional investors in the world.
If Parliament approves it, that is exactly what the Canada infrastructure bank will do. It will invest up to $35 billion in new infrastructure focusing on growth everywhere in Canada.
Fifteen billion of those dollars will come from the investing in Canada plan. That $15 billion represents approximately 8% of the total funds we have committed to infrastructure under our long-term plan, which I referred to earlier, of over $180 billion.
We will make an additional $20 billion in capital available to the Canada infrastructure bank to enable it to hold assets in the form of equity or debt.
The bank will be the federal government’s contact point with the private sector and will hire experts from the private sector so that the government can maximize the investments made with private capital.
The bank’s funds are in addition to the funding for infrastructure that we have committed to doubling. Most importantly, they represent a new way of helping our financing partners meet their urgent infrastructure needs. We will free up public funds to build more public infrastructure using private capital to build these new projects.
We expect that the bank will attract private sector capital that would otherwise not have been invested in public infrastructure. That will have a multiplier effect on our transformational infrastructure capacities. Once the bank has been created as an autonomous crown corporation, it will provide a new tool that the provincial, territorial, municipal, and indigenous partners will be able to use to build the infrastructure that Canadians need.
It will also be responsible for negotiating complex transactions and finding innovative financing solutions for transformational infrastructure projects everywhere in Canada. It is therefore essential that we find and attract talented and experienced managers who will ensure that the bank fulfils its mandate. My colleague, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, has initiated the search for senior management, namely the chairperson, the board of directors, and the chief executive officer of the autonomous crown corporation. The objective is to ensure that the bank is operational by the end of 2017.
This process is open and merit-based, and it will enable us to find the experts and professionals who are needed for managing the bank. The selection process is designed to attract diverse and highly qualified personnel.
At this point, I would like to address some of the allegations made in the House, in particular by the member for South Surrey—White Rock. The suggestion has been made, and it was not simply made by her, that the bank would take away from current projects that have been announced or are under way. That is patently false. The member can rest assured that the projects in her riding, totalling $72.5 million, half of which is federally funded, will go through.
Another issue that was raised was the ownership of the gas tax fund. It bears reminding the House that the gas tax fund was created by the last Liberal minister of finance, now the current Minister of Public Safety, to truly balance the budget. The gas tax fund is a Liberal initiative that creates sustained funding to municipalities through regular funding from the government.
As I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, I met with the UMQ. We do not share entirely the same opinion on how much money gets funded by the federal government. We are entering into a difficult, earnest, and open negotiation phase with Quebec, and municipalities will participate in the advocacy. It was very eager to hear what our plans were.
Wherever I go in Quebec to make announcements, the mayors of the cities, and especially the councillors, who work as hard as we do, if not harder, are delighted to be getting infrastructure. There has been a crying need for decades, because of capital underfunding, and that has consequences.
If approved by Parliament, the bank will be an important new tool for our provincial, territorial, municipal, and indigenous communities to build more infrastructure, while freeing up public funding for public projects.
The Government of Canada has been open and transparent regarding all phases of the bank's development. We will continue to work openly with our partners to ensure our investing in Canada's infrastructure plan continues to meet the needs of communities across Canada.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
Obviously, we need to clarify the fact that the $180 billion is being allocated to a 12-year project. As the member well knows, the model agreements we will have with the provinces will vary from province to province, based on need.
For the existing projects in Quebec, and I am certain that this is what the member wanted to ask about, we pay the bills when they are submitted to the government. We do our due diligence, and when we approve a project, the money is allocated to that project. Whether it comes from the bank, as such, or from the treasury, as such, is therefore not as important as the fact that the project is approved and the commitment to providing the funding is made.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her very good question.
We committed to investing $2 billion in rural communities. That is a very important part of our plan. In addition, $500 million has been allocated to Internet service for rural and small communities. I want to emphasize that. It is an option in our traditional funding structure.
Some people think that the infrastructure bank will only fund big projects in big communities, but that is not at all the case. Here is how it will work. We will take proposals. Not all of the proposals will be approved, but Canadians and Quebeckers will be our primary consideration in selecting proposals that make sense. If a small community submits a major proposal, it will be given due consideration because the infrastructure bank has a multiplier effect. It provides access to funding, to private capital that we could not otherwise afford. Those people invest in projects that make sense for them, but when we evaluate projects, when the bank evaluates projects, it will have to put the needs of Canadians and Quebeckers, first.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, the bank is designed to help attract private capital, where it makes sense, to new projects so that we can build more transformational infrastructure across Canada.
The infrastructure bank, let us be clear, is only $15 billion out of more than a $180-billion transformational plan. The infrastructure bank would be an optional tool for our partners to use, should they wish to do so. No municipality, province, or territory would be forced to use the bank, nor would they be punished for not doing so.
This government takes counsel; it does not take orders.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, the bank is designed to help attract private capital to new projects so that we can build more transformational infrastructure across Canada.
The infrastructure bank, it bears repeating, is only $15 billion out of more than a $180-billion transformational plan. The infrastructure bank will be yet another tool for our partners to use, should they wish to do so.
No municipality, province, or territory will be forced to use the bank. It is one of the tools in our toolkit to create good jobs for the 21st century.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, make no mistake: our government wants to attract private capital to Canada, so that we can build more infrastructure across this great country and create good jobs for the middle class.
The infrastructure bank is $15 billion out of more than a $180 billion transformational plan for the 21st century. The vast majority of our plan will be delivered through traditional infrastructure funding models alongside our municipal, provincial, and indigenous partners.
We are going to build Canada for the 21st century. We are going to use a lot of tools, and the infrastructure bank is just one of them.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, it is worth repeating that this is but one tool in the arsenal that we have to deliver great quality jobs, great infrastructure, for, let us admit, infrastructure that in this country has been underappreciated for the last 10 years.
The infrastructure bank is just $15 billion out of a more than $180 billion plan. The vast majority of our plan will be delivered through our traditional infrastructure funding models alongside municipal, provincial, and indigenous partners.
We are going to build Canada for the 21st century, and we are proud of it.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, the implementing legislation gives flexibility to the bank. Our plan is to invest $15 billion out of a more than $180 billion transformational plan.
It is worth repeating. The vast majority of our plan will be delivered through traditional infrastructure funding models alongside municipal, provincial, and indigenous partners. Where it makes sense, we are going to attract private capital for models that will serve citizens in a way that otherwise they would not be served.
This is a great idea. This is an opportunity to get leverage from the private sector. We are going to do it all for Canadians to deliver a great infrastructure model for the 21st century.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I will tell members where we are delivering billions. We are delivering billions to families who need it the most, families who are seeking hard to join the middle class. With our family allocation through taxing the 1%, we have delivered billions to families who need it the most, for school supplies, for food. We are really proud of that record, and we will take that record to the next election.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, recently our government joined the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, for an important announcement. The city will be using more than $12.2 million in its annual allocation of the federal gas tax fund created by a Liberal government for improvements to its local roads, back lanes, and sidewalks this year. These projects will improve the quality of life of Winnipeg residents and tourists, through better roads, reduced traffic delays, faster commuting, and increases in the efficiency of the overall transportation network in the city.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, at 5:30 in the morning on April 9, 1917, a relentless artillery barrage pounded German trenches in front of the Canadian lines at Vimy Ridge. Unlike on most of the ridge, the barrage failed to hit a critical German trench system facing the 87th Battalion CEF, the Canadian Grenadier Guards.
Facing the steeper part of the hill, these brave men, mostly in their 20s, rose from their trenche encountering the stiffest resistance of the German lines. Within six minutes, more than half of the initial wave was wiped out.
While the Canadian corps won the day, the Canadian Grenadier Guards, the unit I would proudly serve in 73 years later, suffered one of the highest casualty rates among all units, with 155 killed in action and more than 150 others wounded, of the 800 or so who took part in the assault. Thanks to these men, who fought foremost for their fellow brothers in arms, a country was born.
Sons who loved and were loved, never to be fathers, this simple soldier lucky enough to have avoided the stench of war thanks my brothers and sisters. Rest in peace.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, working with our provincial and municipal partners in Alberta, we are improving transit, roads, bridges, and water systems for all Albertans. We have approved 127 projects with over $1.36 billion in federal funding, for total project costs of $4.2 billion in combined funding. Since taking office, 70% of these projects are under way. These projects include the Yellowhead Highway extension, the southwest Calgary ring road, and planning and design funding for the next phase of the Calgary Green Line. There is much more. I could go on about it, but let me be clear. This government is delivering for Albertans, it will continue to deliver for Albertans, and we are very proud of this budget. We will continue to do so.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for the advocacy he does for the people of his riding. He omitted to mention that both ties we are wearing today were made by the wonderful people in his riding.
Our government, in budget 2017, recognized that rural and northern communities have distinct infrastructure needs. We will help to address these unique pressures in these communities by investing $2 billion over 11 years. An additional $400 million will help address energy security in remote and northern communities, including indigenous communities. We will work with the Government of Nunavut as we finalize the details of these programs.
Qujannamiik uqaqti.
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, in budget 2017 we propose to help make communities healthier and more inclusive, invest in faster and more efficient public transit, and build more cultural and recreational centres and affordable housing.
Our government is investing more than $180 billion in neighbourhoods and modern and resilient communities, and these projects are well under way with more than 1,400 projects approved totalling over $15 billion.
In my riding, 6,000 families are better off thanks to this budget. Millions of families throughout Canada are better off. That makes me very proud.
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