A brewing political showdown over a Tory proposal to fast-track $3 billion for infrastructure projects appears to have been averted, despite red flags that the money could be misspent and isn't accountable to taxpayers.
Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale said Friday that the Grits were working out a compromise with the Conservatives which would allow funding to flow quickly while maintaining accountability.
"We are not aiming to set up some phoney confrontation," Goodale said Friday. "This is no time to have some parliamentary showdown."
Prime Minster Stephen Harper dropped the gauntlet over the fund last week and threatened to make it a matter of confidence after the Grits accused the Tories of creating a slush fund.
The Tories say the $3 billion will allow Ottawa to start funding construction projects ahead of the federal budget, which is winding its way through the Senate.
But Harper has refused to explicitly spell out which projects would be funded with the money.
While the Grits plan to table a motion next week requiring the government to spell out the spending, it won't go for a vote until March - meaning plenty of time for compromise, Goodale said.
He also signaled that the Liberals would be willing to drop the motion if the Tories can provide specifics.
"We have signalled to the government one way to do it. They may have other proposals to make. We'd be very interested to hear what their proposals are."
Harper announces more infrastructure projects
Harper, speaking in Berwick, N.S., announced the federal government and the province were spending $17.5 million to widen part of Highway 101 through the Annapolis Valley.
The highway is a major east-west route and connects Halifax to Yarmouth.
Harper said the project was just one of many that the government is focused on speeding up as part of its Economic Action Plan. Of the total, up to $6.75 million will be funded by Ottawa through the Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund.
"All across Canada our government is working with the provinces to cut red tape and get these much needed projects up and running," Harper told reporters.
The prime minister also shot back at accusations from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff that the Tories were using a $3-billion stimulus fund to hide the extent of the government's deficit.
During question period Wednesday, Ignatieff said the Conservatives had $3 billion left over in last year's budget for infrastructure that could be used to stimulate the economy instead of the new fund.
The Liberals have criticized the $3-billion fund as unaccountable and plan to propose a motion next week requiring the government to precisely spell out what the money will be spent on.
Harper said Friday that the $3 billion relates to new spending programs announced specifically in the budget and is money over-and-above existing infrastructure programs.
He said the Liberal demands were unrealistic.
"There is no excuse for an opposition that has been saying we need to deliver money more quickly to now say we need to delay that money or say we need to have Parliamentary sign-off on every individual project," he said.
"That is not realistic. It's not going to work that way."
Harper said the Liberals need to stop throwing up "roadblocks" and let the money flow.
He said Canada is "aggressively" funding initiatives in communities across the country that will generate economic growth for "many years to come."
Harper also said the project in Halifax was a testament to what can be achieved when governments work together.
"Today's announcement isn't simply about highway upgrades or the jobs they will create," Harper said. "It is more fundamentally about where we are heading as a country."
"As the world struggles with the effects of the global recession, we as Canadians are looking ahead."
Infrastructure Minister John Baird said later on Friday that the government simply wants to get money out to jolt the economy back to life.
"What we want to do is move as quickly as possible," he told CTV's Power Play.
Baird said that the request shouldn't be considered "significant" in relation to the many more billions of dollars laid out in the 2009 budget.
"What we want to do is jumpstart the Canadian economy," he said, adding that the money would act as a stopgap fund to get projects moving ahead of the budget money.
Last week, Harper announced the widening of Saskatchewan's Highway 11, between Saskatoon and Prince Albert.
With files from The Canadian Press
