Mary Van Buren is the president of the Canadian Construction Association, which represents more than 20,000 member firms drawn from 63 local and provincial associations.
The politicians who are promising action to build the 5.8 million new homes Canada needs by 2030 seem to be forgetting that, unlike that log cabin, the millions of homes that are needed can’t even begin to be built without connection to the world around them, to roads, bridges, clean water, electricity and waste management.
Or perhaps it is willful ignorance? Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault recently said his government “has made the decision to stop investing at the federal level in new road infrastructure” because “the analysis we have done is that the network is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have.” In the face of outrage, he moderated his statement the following day, saying, “We still have funds, obviously, to maintain and enhance our road network across the country.