Archived MHCA | Sept 2019

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 2

A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

BY CHRIS LORENC NEW GOVERNMENT, START FOR RENEWED INVESTMENT IN CORE INFRASTRUCTURE

M anitobans have voted and our government has a renewed mandate. This must be seen, in part, as support for the work that has been done to right the province’s finances, to reduce deficits and return to some balance in our fiscal position. The MHCA has always supported that goal. But there is work to be done in growing our economy. The news mid-August from the Conference Board of Canada indicates Manitoba could be in for a rough year, with economic growth projections cut drastically to about 0.5% this year. That’s substantially down from the forecast published in last spring’s provincial budget books, which set growth at 1.7%, a respectable rate in Canada. The Conference Board’s report is warning 2020 is not looking much better. Some of this arises from recent trade disputes (China), but the Board also noted provincial deficit- cutting measures have played into the mix, as well. Nowhere in the provincial budget has this deficit- cutting been more severe than in our roads programs. Since 2016, the highways budget has fallen precipitously – $628 million was invested in 2015-16; this year, for the second in a row, the province budgeted $350 million for highways. The impact? The wear and tear on our highways are compounded as repairs are delayed. Manitoba has more than 19,000 kilometres of provincial roads – highways, arteries and collectors and gravel roads. Decaying roads are unsafe. They slow our commutes and that’s bad for the environment and the economy. Our transportation infrastructure forms the arteries for trade, and trade is the heart that pumps our provincial

Finally – get started. The MHCA understands that Manitoba’s highways and bridges need something in the range of $9 billion worth of work to get up to good condition – evidence of decades of neglect that will take decades to address. Start by prioritizing the projects with greatest return to the GDP, identify dedicated streams of revenue, return the highways capital budget to a meaningful level and stick to the investment schedule laid out in line with the asset-management plan. In the last report on the age of public infrastructure, published in 2008, Statistics Canada said Manitoba’s roads were the oldest, on average, in Canada. We’ve had some good years for infrastructure investment since then but successive years of budget cutting are having an effect, on our roads and our economy. It’s time to rebuild – start with the basics. It’s time to reinvest in our infrastructure and our economy.

economy. If the arteries don’t work, the economy will show signs the system is under stress (see above). Now that we’re returning to fiscal balance, Manitoba must rebuild. We have to attend to those elements of public policy that spur our economy. Strategic infrastructure investment is proven to have amongst the highest returns to GDP – between $1.30 and $1.60 for every $1 invested. Here’s what the MHCA suggests for our new government’s next steps: 1. Review all provincial infrastructure expenditures, government-wide. We need to know precisely what we are funding, and why. Prioritizing investment for those projects that are focused on improving trade will have the fastest and highest return to the economy. 2. Measure what you value. We need to know the detailed condition of our highways – including arterial and collector roads – in order to plot priorities, and to ensure we maintain our roads. What will be the cost to do that? We can’t know or have a meaningful debate on that, until the province agrees to release all reports Manitoba Infrastructure holds on highway condition assessment and need and the infrastructure investment deficit. The department even tracks where collisions occur and why. Let’s see those reports, not hide them like state secrets. 3. Strategy. We need one. Governments that value their transportation network have an “asset-management” plan. Such a plan helps ensure highways don’t deteriorate to the point they must be rebuilt because that’s far more costly (see graph below).

Chris Lorenc is president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

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The high cost of decay Manitoba’s roads were rated the oldest in Canada, the last time Statistics Canada surveyed highway condition and investment in 2008. There were isolated years in which our highways saw good investment levels, but since 2016, that budget has been cut dramatically. The Manitoba Heavy Construction Association advocates for an infrastructure investment strategy that includes sustainable, incremental funding – laid out in annual and five-year budget programs – to maintain our transportation system and other core infrastructure assets (water and sewer, bridges and water-control structures) to keep citizens and communities safe, and to grow our economy. Maintaining infrastructure is more cost-effective than reconstructing. Below shows the higher cost of reconstruction.

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Transportation Research Board (TRB), National Research Council, Washington, D.C., TR News, Sept. - Oct. 2003