Grading Modern Times

The importance of investing in modern infrastructure has become synonymous with Canada's economic competitiveness and quality of life. Grading that infrastructure can serve as a guide to renewal, both for individuals and for countries. At least that is the hope behind the first-ever Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, a joint project of the Canadian Construction Association, the Canadian Public Works Association, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Released in September, the report card provides data from a survey of 123 municipalities where 60% of the Canadian population lives. The report card provides information on a number of factors, such as the physical condition of the infrastructure, available capacity, value of the infrastructure systems, and types of management systems used to collect information and make infrastructure investment decisions. During the financial crisis, the report card states, the country's governments worked together to use stimulus funds to develop local infrastructure and create jobs.