Jul 27, 2020
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on Ontario’s economy and, as the province emerges from the shadow of the pandemic, the question of how to kick-start the recovery looms large. Strategic investments in state-of-good-repair projects will keep jobs and growth on track. Alternatively, efforts to rein in infrastructure spending would have devastating consequences. The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) recently commissioned a report on the situation, titled Navigating the COVID-19 Socio-economic Shock: How Infrastructure Investments Will Facilitate Future Growth in Ontario. It was prepared by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA). The report warns that employment and tax revenues will take a staggering hit over the next decade unless governments work together to maintain pre-COVID-19 infrastructure investments. RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan, CANCEA president and CEO Paul Smetanin, and Heavy Construction Association of Toronto executive director Peter Smith discuss their ideas.