The Infrastructure Stimulus Debacle

Due to government mismanagement, municipalities will be left on the hook for multi-million-dollar projects.

Up to $500-million in stimulus spending for infrastructure could go unspent, says a report from Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page that was released earlier this week. The Infrastructure Stimulus Fund was set to fund projects with $4-billion in federal funds, but Page's report says that up to half of those projects might not be finished by the March 31, 2011 deadline. After that, municipalities would be left on the hook for remaining costs.

Gerard Kennedy, a Liberal Party MP for Parkdale-High Park and infrastructure critic, joined The Mark to voice his discontent with these new developments in stimulus spending. In addition to the exorbitant bills that could be left to municipalities, Kennedy says a good portion of funds were earmarked for Conservative ridings, leaving some communities in the cold.