The infrastructure industry is a resource-intensive sector that requires financial, human, natural and material resources. Funding infrastructure remains a great concern for the industry. The TRM participants recommend mandated organizations at all levels of government to explore and establish innovative funding mechanisms, and to include private sector stakeholders in this approach. Subjects retained under funding mechanisms include:
• developing and implementing user-pay technologies;
• basing decisions on life-cycle costs and benefits;
• using full-cost accounting;
• making decisions according to sound demand-management analyses; and
• developing and sharing innovative funding mechanisms, possibly with legislative changes to allow more private sector participation.
Several issues relating to highly qualified labour and skills were retained as critical to CIS. These include education programs at all levels, succession planning, accreditation/certification programs, collaborations between labour training organizations and the industry, and work-based education such as co-op programs at universities and colleges.
It is important to address the non-technology issues raised by the development of the TRM. It is recommended that a National Round Table for Infrastructure be created so that stakeholders can more effectively cooperate in developing recommendations for action on policy and standards issues, legislative and resources issues.