Canada's New Infrastructure Plan : 1st Report to Parliament - Following the Money

Summary: 'This report analyzes the Government’s New Infrastructure Plan (NIP) announced through the 2016 Federal Budget and its 2016 Fall Economic Statement. This analysis is designed to assist parliamentarians in understanding program outcomes and potential risks to those outcomes. The program is being rolled out in two phases. Phase 1, at $13.6 billion for the first two years, aims at providing some economic stimulus. The outer-years expenditure is to improve Canada’s long-term economic productivity. The Government has provided no performance measurement framework with which to evaluate the NIP’s performance, and only limited visibility on tracking how the money is being spent. PBO data show that of the $13.6 billion for fiscal years 2016-18 announced in Budget 2016, departments have identified $4.6 billion worth of projects. While departments have committed to spending all the allocated funds within the time frame provided, these data show that there remains a significant gap. The NIP is a key component of the Government’s economic plan. Budget 2016 projected that the phase 1 infrastructure spending would raise gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.2% in 2016-17 and by 0.4% in 2017-18. Because of the gap between funds that have been announced and the value of projects identified, the Government is at risk of not realizing this projection”--Executive summary, p. 1.