Years of neglect and poor planning have allowed Ontario's public infrastructure to decline, and damaged the delivery of critical public services. Waiting lists in hospitals, rundown schools, and congestion and gridlock on our roads are all visible signs of this neglect. The cost of correcting past under-investment and of building the public facilities we need to accommodate future growth may exceed $100 billion. Renewed and sustained action is needed now to tackle Ontario's public infrastructure challenge. Given the magnitude of the challenge, Ontario needs both a better way to manage growth and a better way to finance and manage investments in public infrastructure.
In July 2004, the government introduced its vision for the future development of the Greater Golden Horseshoe in a discussion document, Places to Grow: Better Choices. Brighter Future, which describes how and where the region should grow over the next 30 years. That vision will later be extended to other regions of the province.
This document, Building a Better Tomorrow, establishes a framework for planning, financing and procuring the public infrastructure that will help make the government's vision of the future a reality and improve the delivery of public services in every part of the province. It is the first comprehensive strategy for planning, financing, building and managing public infrastructure in Ontario's history, and will be a critical tool in Ontario's new approach to planning for population and economic growth. It is a key step in the government's plan to finance and rebuild the province's public infrastructure and improve the delivery of public services.
The Ontario government is committed to improving the essential public services Ontarians need and deserve and to building strong, vital communities. The renewal of the public infrastructure that enables the delivery of these services and supports a high quality of life in communities throughout the province is critical if we are to achieve these objectives. This framework provides guidance on how these critical infrastructure investments will be delivered in a manner that will produce quality and measurable results and be consistent with the principles, objectives and priorities outlined below.
This framework is designed to support the Ontario government's first-ever three- and 10-year infrastructure investment plans for Ontario and to increase the level of collaboration among all partners in delivering public infrastructure investments. The multi-year plans will set out the priorities and timelines for the creation and renewal of critical public infrastructure that will improve the delivery of essential public services and build a quality of life in Ontario that is second to none. The investment plans, together with this framework, provide Ontario's public sector with a comprehensive vision as to what and how public infrastructure initiatives are to be created and renewed.