More stimulus spending coming

The federal government expects to have more success in 2010 spending infrastructure stimulus funds than it had last year.

In 2009, the government spent only about half the money it set aside for so-called "shovel ready" projects, Transport Minister John Baird, who is in charge of Canada's infrastructure money, said Thursday,

"We are carrying forward $1.4 billion from the past fiscal year to match the pace of construction," Baird told a Commons committee.

The $1.4-billion — about half the envelope of infrastructure money meant to stimulate the economy — is still sitting in government coffers.

The government blames complex negotiations between federal, provincial and municipal governments. It also said some of the money is committed, just not spent.

However, Baird said, spending on these government projects is moving money faster than has been usual in the last 50 years.

"I would compare them against any single public infrastructure project launched since ...  I'll go even further than 25 years — since the Second World War — and say we moved 10 times faster."  

Many communities are asking for more time to organize projects — and put out calls for tenders — to use this surplus money and an additional $3 billion already budgeted for this year.    

But there's only one year left in the program — even if the money isn't all spent. This time next year, leftover money won't be carried over to future years.

Instead, it will go towards the government's next big project — chipping away at the deficit.