Four-laning the Trans-Canada Highway could be done with the help of the National Highway Foundation, and deliver a national economic boost just as the U.S. interstate highway system did, says Thunder Bay-Superior MP Joe Comuzzi.
Comuzzi, who chairs the government's national highway task force, says one cent of every litre of gas sold could generate $580 million annually for the foundation.
The Liberal MP says such a plan was proposed five years ago. The foundation would fund the $15-billion project with a combination of private-sector funding and gasoline tax.
The plan has been shelved by the government until just recently because of the government's unwillingness to put revenue into an arm's-length foundation.