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FEATURE
maximize the number of public transit
projects that are built in Canada.
• Green infrastructure: new funding will
include, but not be limited to, local
water and wastewater facilities, climate-resilient
infrastructure, including
both adaption and mitigation, clean
energy and cleanup of contaminated
sites to facilitate new construction
When it comes to the potential impact
of these projects, Robin Somerville, direc-tor
of the Centre for Spatial Economics
says, “Spending on social infrastructure
will boost employment in building con-struction
trades, but the broader eco-nomic
benefits of this spending are harder
to assess – and take longer to manifest
themselves – than for other types of in-frastructure
spending. Spending on green
infrastructure will impact engineer-ing
construction trades and its benefits
were estimated by a study released by the
Broadbent Institute last year where, in the
long-term, a dollar of spending is estimat-ed
to raise economic activity by between
$2 and $4.”
Somerville says federal spending will be
allocated based on a broad set of criteria
such as project urgency, planning review
process status, projected benefits and, per-haps,
political expediency.
“There is no way of ascertaining what
will come to Saskatchewan, but it is un-likely
to materially impact the industry or
add to labour shortages in any of the skilled
trades,” he says.
Focusing on Saskatchewan
In terms of funding dedicated to
Saskatchewan, in addition to over $290
million annually through the Gas Tax Fund,
there is currently more than $550 million
“As we develop our plan, it is important to
hear from Canadians about their priorities,
what their infrastructure needs are and about
what these investments can do to make
our communities the kinds of places that
people want to live, work, grow and play.”
– Hon. Amarjeet Sohi, Minister,
Infrastructure and Communities
42 Think BIG | Quarter 3 2016 | saskheavy.ca
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