Tories bulking up own ridings with infrastructure funds: Liberals

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, left, listens as Prime Minister Stephen Harper responds to his question in the House of Commons on Thursday. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

The Liberals accused the Conservative government on Thursday of rewarding its political supporters with federal infrastructure money, saying more than three-quarters of funding handed out since 2007 went to ridings held by Tories.

The Opposition party's analysis of the $1 billion dispensed from the Building Canada fund found 21 of 26 projects receiving money are in ridings that elected Conservative MPs, Liberal infrastructure critic Gerard Kennedy said.

Kennedy told the House of Commons during Thursday's question period that it leaves the majority of Canadians living in opposition ridings "massively shortchanged."

"Will the minister agree to stop punishing people who did not vote Conservative and to use infrastructure funds to create jobs fairly for all Canadians?" Kennedy said.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister John Baird responded that the government was committed to working with municipalities and federal partners to ensure the funds are spread out in various regions of the country.

"We think that is important," he said.

'I'm an impatient man'

Earlier in the session, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to guarantee the billions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects in the recently passed federal budget will be delivered on time.

'Just last week, he was saying that there wasn't one project out the door, and now he's citing 26 of them, and the leader of the Opposition says he's impatient. Mr. Speaker, we've had quite a week.'—John Baird, cabinet minister

"I can't help but find I'm an impatient man," Ignatieff told the House. "Can the prime minister assure us that his infrastructure spending will benefit all Canadians, no matter where they live or who they vote for?"

The prime minister replied the government will "absolutely" follow through on its infrastructure commitments.

"It’s obviously the intention of the government through the budget to assure that all sectors and all communities, particularly those hardest hit by the world economic slowdown, are put to work and kept at work," Harper said.

But he added Ignatieff "doesn't have a lot of credibility" by saying the infrastructure spending program isn't working just two days after supporting it.

The Building Canada fund was supposed to distribute $37 billion over seven years, but the opposition parties and the country's mayors have complained that little money has actually flowed to municipal infrastructure projects.

Budget passes this week

On Thursday, Baird mocked the Liberals for previously criticizing the government for failing to get the Building Canada funds out quickly enough.

"This is quite remarkable," Baird told the House. "Just last week, he was saying that there wasn't one project out the door, and now he's citing 26 of them, and the leader of the Opposition says he's impatient.

"Mr. Speaker, we've had quite a week."

On Tuesday, the House of Commons passed the federal budget by a 211-91 vote, with support from most Liberal MPs after the government agreed to a Liberal amendment requiring it to deliver periodic stimulus progress reports to Parliament.

The budget promises $4 billion over the next two years for projects beginning construction in the 2009 and 2010 building seasons.

The NDP and Bloc Québécois voted against the budget.