Infrastructure spending woes reveal another broken promise by Liberals

Governments seldom take flak for not spending enough money. But when it comes to the federal Liberals’ slow-moving infrastructure program, harsh words on this account are warranted.

Despite being elected to fire up the economy with billions of new dollars for public transit, roads, housing and other worthy projects, the government is bungling the job of getting the cash out the door and the necessary work started. How bad is the foul-up?

Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Frechette reports that half of the $14.4 billion set aside for Phase 1 of the New Infrastructure Plan -- $7.2 billion -- has not yet been attributed to any project.

And with all that money sitting idle, the good things it was supposed to build and the jobs it was supposed to create have not materialized.

This embarrassing failure to deliver not only cash but action matters.

First, the aggressive, costly infrastructure spending plan was one of the most important planks in the Liberals’ 2015 election platform.

Remember how their emphasis on infrastructure spending set them apart from their Conservative and NDP opponents? It was supposed to be the high-octane fuel that would rev up Canada’s sputtering economy while making life better for us all.

And the benefits the new spending was supposed to bring would more than justify the Liberals’ plan to run modest deficits of $10 billion a year during their first two years in office.

This bold promise helped elect the Liberals. Today, it stands as another broken Liberal vow.

Indeed, not only is the infrastructure money not being spent, the Liberal deficits are far greater than Canadians were told they would be.

It doesn’t take a cynic to think the highlytouted infrastructure pledge was a fig leaf to hide plans for more cash for pet Liberal projects.

Second, the government’s inability to get vital infrastructure projects going in a timely fashion has seriously weakened the impact of the entire program.

The plan depended on a speedy payout of funding for fast results. Yet the actual economic stimulus created by the Liberals’ infrastructure program is only a quarter of what they so confidently predicted. The anticipated growth in new jobs was stunted, too.

Third, the Liberals come off looking like exceptionally bad managers. This episode should remind taxpayers that talk is cheap and easy. It’s the delivery that’s hard but matters most. The Liberals haven’t delivered. Meanwhile, the government’s excuses are as feeble as they are unconvincing.

Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi says the problem is the government didn’t send the Parliamentary Budget Officer all the information he needed.

And while being apologetic for that, Sohi insists the government’s record on infrastructure is better than what the budget watchdog’s report concluded.

Sorry, Minister Sohi. Frechette’s report says otherwise.

It explains that the 10,052 projects it identified make up a "substantial majority" of the total number the government has planned so far. This should make Canadians more confident of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s findings than the infrastructure minister’s self-serving defence.

What Sohi is really saying is he doesn’t know exactly how much has been spent or on what. And that only makes the government look even more careless and inept.

In future, Canadians should beware of campaigning Liberals bearing gifts. Especially if they contain infrastructure.