Small municipalities unlikely to benefit from infrastructure bank, Morneau hints
OTTAWA — Finance Minister Bill Morneau is suggesting that small municipalities won’t see much — if any — benefit from the federal government’s proposed new infrastructure bank.
The bank, to be launched next year, is intended to attract billions in private investment for public infrastructure projects.
But Morneau told the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on Tuesday that global institutional investors will be looking to invest only in “large transformational projects” that produce a revenue stream, from which they can earn a high rate of return on their investment.
He says it’s unlikely they’ll want to sink money into roads and bridges in small communities.