Dennis King and other Canadian premiers want to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to find out whether federal infrastructure funding is coming down the road.
The provincial and territorial premiers wrote to Trudeau in advance of the federal budget, which is scheduled to come down April 16.
King told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin on Tuesday that the premiers aren’t aware of any infrastructure funding plan for the coming year.
The premier said governments are concerned any new money won’t come on a per capita basis, meaning P.E.I. will have to compete with other provinces for funding on projects.
Canada’s 13 premiers say they’ve asked for a meeting with the prime minister, but to no avail. Still, they say they want more details on when a new federal infrastructure plan is coming, and what it will entail. P.E.I. Premier Dennis King tells CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin what the leaders are looking for.
“It’s not about not having strings attached, but it is about the province being a willing participant in the discussion about how we go about formulating such an important program,” King said.
“I think municipalities want a better understanding of what a program will look like and how it will roll out, just as the provinces would.
“It’s about, how can we — as the identifying jurisdiction — help the federal government roll out a comprehensive plan that can actually do what we all need it to do.”
Canada’s premiers wrote to the prime minister on Monday, saying provincial and territorial governments are best positioned to understand their own “unique regional, municipal and local infrastructure needs.”
Ottawa traditionally funds one-third of the cost of infrastructure projects, with the other two thirds split between the provincial and municipal governments.
King said there has been no federal infrastructure program for a year, and he’s concerned about completing much-needed projects in P.E.I.
“We need water and sewer, we need infrastructure to help with our housing developments, for example,” he said. “We want a plan as soon as possible, but we’d like to know what the plan is as well.”
Governments need to have input in what that infrastructure program looks like, he said, because they often help their municipal counterparts navigate the complexities of the federal program.
“Any municipality who’s going to be partnering with the federal government is going to need provincial investment and involvement in this,” King said.
“[The provincial government] can be really, really helpful in identifying projects, but also expediting the process and getting them into action.”
