QUESTION PERIOD — Infrastructure and Communities
Infrastructure Bank
June 19, 2019
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Leader, on June 11, I asked you questions about the Infrastructure Bank’s operations. To one of my questions you responded, “this is a bank that operates at arm’s length”.
In a written response tabled in the other place, Department of Finance officials admitted to meeting staff at the Infrastructure Bank at least eight times between October and December 2018 to push the bank to invest in the VIA Rail high-speed train project.
Senator Harder, if the bank operates at arm’s length, as you say, why are Finance officials involved in the funding of a VIA Rail project, which is part of the Transport portfolio?
I thank the honourable senator for his question. It is not at all surprising that the officials responsible in the Department of Finance for infrastructure and investment wouldn’t wish to bring to the attention of the Infrastructure Bank projects that it believes are meritorious. Independence does not mean spawned in isolation. It simply means that decision-making is the responsibility of the board of directors.
Why not leave it to Via Rail to deal with this?
Yes.
