A new study on implementing Ontario's infrastructure plan

Courageous and forward-looking to pave the way to prosperity

A new study by the Residential Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario points to improvements that could be made to the evaluation process used by governments to select projects. More than $200 billion has been pledged by the federal government and Queen’s Park over 12 years. If it is spent wisely, says report author Michael Fenn, and based on integrated decision-making, Ontario could witness another Golden Age such as in the 1950s and 1960s where major investments transformed our economic and social landscape.

Fenn says governments need to be more courageous and forward-looking to pave the way to prosperity. “Projects that might have seemed expensive in the 1950s are now viewed as wise investments … The same holds true today, but we must ensure that projects are justified based on rigorous study and analysis.”

RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan welcomes the findings in the report, saying that “Ontario- based contractors have expressed that there are significant barriers to bidding on larger projects managed by IO. Michael Fenn has provided useful advice on ways to open up the process to domestic firms.” He adds that “building up local capacity will result in more bidders and this will save the taxpayers money.”

Read the full report – Infrastructure Ontario: A Key agency to Implement the Long-term Infrastructure Plan – at http://rccao.com/research/files/RCCAO_FENN-REPORT_SEPT2017.pdf