infrastructure – Page 3 – mackaycartoons

Thursday August 7, 2014

August 7, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 7, 2014

Kathleen Wynne urges feds to stop neglecting infrastructure

Premier Kathleen Wynne says infrastructure in Canada is in dire straits.

“Public infrastructure‎ in Canada has been neglected by all levels of government for too long,” Wynne told a special interprovincial summit Wednesday.

“And I would argue that now — time is up,” she said, adding progress can only be made when the provinces and the federal governments work together.

‎Wynne noted that Ontario is asking Ottawa “to do its part” by increasing it’s annual investment in infrastructure to 2 per cent of GDP.

“This is not about asking the federal government for something that isn’t going to benefit them,” she said.

Wynne said for example the province is sending $130 billion over 10 years on infrastructure compared to the federal government spending $70 billion over the next decade on the whole country.

The Premier said investment in infrastructure started to drop off in the 1970s “when Canada pulled back from a period of postwar infrastructure investment.

“This mistake wasn’t fully apparent until the 1990s. That’s when the crack could no longer be hidden,” she told the gathering of premiers, provincial ministers and municipal and private sector representatives.

Wynne noted that according to a Statistics Canada report, 10 per cent of private sector productivity gains between 1962 and 2006 were due to investment in infrastructure.

She also cited another StatsCan report that concluded that every dollar invested in public infrastructure lowers business costs by 11 cents and reduces manufacturing costs by 27 cents on average. (Source: Toronto Star)

Wednesday August 15, 2012

August 15, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday August 15, 2012

Councillors frustrated by stadium secrecy

The secrecy surrounding Hamilton’s new Pan Am stadium has led to one councillor threatening to step down from the Games subcommittee.

Bernie Morelli, whose ward will house the new venue on the site of the current Ivor Wynne Stadium, says he’s so frustrated by the process that he’s thinking of quitting the Pan Am stadium subcommittee. Councillor Brad Clark also expressed his frustration at Infrastructure Ontario, the province’s development agency.

“We’ve relinquished all of our responsibility to Infrastructure Ontario,” Clark said.

The comments came about after councillors dealt with a report about a cost-sharing agreement for the new Pan Am stadium at Monday’s general issues committee meeting.

City staff were asking for council’s approval to enter into discussions with Infrastructure Ontario to determine the “roles, relationships, joint and separate responsibilities, authorizations and obligations” for the Pam Am stadium.

According to the report, the capital cost for the stadium is $145.6 million. The operating costs for 2012 are $340,300. However, the staff report offered few details about how the costs and operating responsibilities of the stadium will be shared.

When councillors asked staff for more information, Gerry Davis, the city’s general manager of public works, said they would have to check with Infrastructure Ontario to see if they had permission to share those details publicly. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Wednesday February 26, 2003

February 26, 2003 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 26, 2003

Another Hole to Fill

MP Stan Keyes, whose Hamilton West riding has been plagued by the recent water main breaks, said Ottawa has been spending money on municipal infrastructure and will continue to. But he said it has to be balanced with the other priorities of the country.

“There is a point at which the federal government will not go into deficit,” he said. “We have to get into priority spending.”

While Keyes decried finger-pointing between various levels of government, he said Ontario could be doing more priority spending of its own.

“Maybe we don’t need tax cuts this year. Maybe we need to invest more in municipal infrastructure,” Keyes said. “I don’t think there is a resident on Locke Street who would disagree.”

At least a few Hamilton West residents are a little fed up with all the political finger-pointing. Crews were pumping water from brothers Tom and Tim McDermott’s basement yesterday as the family made a list of all the items damaged on Sunday — golf clubs, memorabilia, bicycles and appliances. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday January 23, 2003

January 23, 2003 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 23, 2003

The Great Flood of 2003

The old pipe couldn’t take the pressure anymore and blew just before 5 a.m. For 76 years, it had ferried water from the city’s main trunk line up Locke Street to fill the Beaumont Reservoir, which in turn quenches west Hamilton’s thirst. But yesterday, after days of bitter cold, frost worked its way under the 30-inch cast iron pipe, right where one section connects the next under the intersection of Herkimer and Locke streets.

The frost pushed the ground up until the big feeder pipe shattered like a poorly fired clay vase, blowing out a one-metre-square piece of metal.

It released a geyser of water so powerful it blasted straight up through concrete roadbed and asphalt and spewed three metres into the air.

Within minutes, it sped down streets into more than 100 homes and businesses, completely flooding some basements and reducing water pressure across large parts of west Hamilton. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)