Leaders from across the cement and concrete industry have signed a joint declaration that calls on the federal government to prioritize construction and strategic infrastructure spending to help restore the economy from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Signed by Michael McSweeny, president and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada, as well as the heads of seven of the company’s largest cement and concrete producers, the declaration calls on the public and private sectors to “use construction activity and time-sensitive infrastructure spending as an important and visible stimulus that multiplies benefits through many value chains in every region of Canada.”

In particular, it highlights the weakened financial state of Canada's municipalities and the need for the federal government to absorb a greater share of the cost of infrastructure projects in communities across Canada.

The declaration also calls attention to the role played by the cement and concrete industry in the construction supply chain and in the economy as a whole. In addition to being large local employers, companies in the sector employ more than 158,000 Canadians, and create more than $76 billion in annual economic activity.

The declaration also points to the role played by the industry in supporting Canada’s net-zero by 2050 carbon goals, as well as the sector’s demonstrated track record in developing and implementing health and safety protocols that protect our employees and the communities where they work.

"A successful economic recovery will require a commitment to use time-sensitive infrastructure spending," said McSweeney. "We have a very short construction season in Canada and municipalities have lost much of their financial capacity to fund important infrastructure projects this year. We need the federal government to help municipalities get local community infrastructure projects going to boost economic activity and public confidence."

The seven-point declaration calls on the federal government to:

• Put construction at the core of any economic recovery plan. Since construction has a track record as a reliable engine for economic recovery, the letter says, it can drive the post-pandemic economy.

• Prioritize large-scale infrastructure projects to improve competitiveness and growth. New investments in urban infrastructure such as schools, roads and bridges will support economic growth.

• De-risk provincial and municipal projects by ensuring federal dollars are first into projects. The letter points out that municipalities have experienced significant revenue losses. Capital planning, therefore, has become impossible. Guaranteeing federal expenditures on local projects can help de-risk projects.

• Boost investment in municipal State of Good Repair projects. Such projects maintain critical community assets, and can be operationalized quickly. The letter calls on the federal government to provide dollars through the Gas Tax Fund to allow municipalities to start shovel-ready projects this construction season.

• Optimize existing infrastructure programs that already have a large inventory of projects and approved funding. The partners recommend the federal government cover 100 percent of the municipal share of all approved projects that can be implemented in the 2020 construction season and completed by the end of the 2022 construction season.

• Accelerate the transfer of historic levels of funding already committed under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan. The federal government committed more than $182 billion to this plan over 10 years, and the partners call for this time period to be condensed to allow for more projects to be put in the ground sooner.

• Invest in the continued decarbonization of energy-intensive industries such as cement. The cement industry in Canada, says the declaration, is well-positioned to provide materials required for zero-carbon construction. The signatories say they want to see the federal government make such projects a priority during the pandemic recovery.