Transportation Minister John Baird defended the federal government's plans to get $3 billion in stimulus spending out the door by April, saying unemployed Canadians shouldn't have to wait three months for the Conservatives to create jobs.
Treasury Board President Vic Toews announced the emergency fund late last week, saying the money could be spent on infrastructure projects by next month if it gets approved by Parliament.
The opposition parties have charged that fast-tracked funds won't be subject to proper checks and balances to ensure they are spent on projects outlined in the federal budget.
Speaking Sunday on CTV's Question Period, Baird accused the opposition of trying to delay spending by months and said, "I don't think Canadians who are unemployed should have to wait that long."
Baird did not directly answer a question about how many jobs the $3 billion would create, but said the emergency fund is designed to get stimulus spending flowing quickly.
"We're committed to getting shovels in the ground, whether it's a sewer project, public transit, roads, bridges or water treatment plants," Baird said. "We're committed to do it and we need to put up the money and that is what that initiative is all about."
Liberal finance critic John McCallum said his party has no objection to getting stimulus spending moving at "lightening speed."
However, he said that a Treasury Board official told him that the funds could be used for projects not included in the budget.
"I think that blank cheque is a little too blank...," McCallum told Question Period.
Ted Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said the money will be subject to the same scrutiny as any other government spending, including treasury board regulations and oversight by the auditor general.
"It will receive the same scrutiny whether it's spent in April or whether it's spent in June or July," Menzies told Question Period. "It's exactly the same scrutiny."
Menzies also pointed out that the cold Canadian climate makes it imperative that construction projects start as early in the spring as possible.
"The one thing that people fail to recognize is the fact that in this Canadian climate, we have a very short window of construction," Menzies said. "And if we can't get these projects up and running the minute the frost is out of the ground, we won't get them done by fall."
