Statement from Ontario and Canadian road builders in response to Minister Guilbeault’s irresponsible comments
Mississauga, ON, Feb. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Road Builders’ Association, the leading voice of the transportation infrastructure industry in Canada’s largest province, is calling on the federal Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault and the Ontario Liberal Caucus to immediately clarify the Minister’s comments at a downtown Montreal conference on Monday, and clearly state the federal government’s position on critical road and highway projects in Ontario and across the country.
While the Minister’s previous actions - including an attempt to encroach on provincial jurisdiction over infrastructure development recently deemed unconstitutional – demonstrate a bias against development, it is shocking to see the Minister make these comments on behalf of the government, suggesting a naive understanding of Canada’s infrastructure needs at a time of record immigration and a push towards removing barriers to trade and economic growth.
Further, these comments can only be characterized as elitist and out of touch with the reality of every day life in suburban and rural communities. Middle-class Canadians in Waterloo, Scarborough and Orleans depend on road and highway infrastructure to get to work, drive their children to hockey practice and ensure their loved ones receive adequate emergency and primary care. Moreover, the road building industry employs more than 56,000 workers in Ontario alone, that is thousands of good paying jobs supporting tens of thousands of families across Canada.
Just last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks at ORBA’s 97^th Annual Convention emphasized the importance of road and highway infrastructure for Canadian prosperity, and thanked our members for the work they do in Ontario and across the country. We ask the Prime Minister ensure this same message is echoed and championed around the Cabinet table.
ORBA supports development across the entire transportation infrastructure asset class, including rail and public transit; therefore, we call on Minister Guilbeault to stop playing politics and join us and provincial governments across Canada to get shovels in the ground on much needed projects in Ontario and across the country.
CONTACT: Walid Abou-Hamde
Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA)
walid@orba.org