Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Plans include improvements to public transit, water and wastewater systems; building affordable housing; and protecting against the effects of climate change.
Canada’s government has pledged to spend $125 billion over the next 10 years in an effort to boost the country’s economy. A portion of this budget includes a two-phase infrastructure spending program that is expected to boost Canada’s GDP by 0.2 percent in 2016 and 0.4 percent in 2017.
Phase 1 of the Canadian Government’s infrastructure plan consists of $11.9 billion in spending over the next five years that will aim to immediately invest in infrastructure in order to modernize and rehabilitate public transit, water and wastewater systems; provide affordable housing; and protect existing infrastructure from the effects of climate change.
The government will spend $3.4 billion over the next three years to upgrade and improve public transit across Canada based on each of the provinces’ and territories’ share of national public transit ridership. Over the next five years, $5 billion will go towards water, wastewater and “green” projects designed to respond to climate change, which includes $2.2 billion for clean water and $2.24 billion for water, wastewater and waste management in First Nations communities. The social infrastructure portion of the budget will put $3.44 billion towards building social projects, such as subsidized housing, recreation centers, child care centers and social infrastructure investment in First Nations, Inuit and northern communities.
Phase 2 will deliver on the remaining years of the government’s long-term infrastructure plan, which will be broader: a more modern, cleaner economy; a more inclusive society; and an economy better positioned to capitalize on the potential of global trade.