Scotiabank CEO calls on feds to boost infrastructure spending, backs Energy East

Scotiabank President & CEO Brian Porter speaks at Scotiabank's 182nd Annual Meeting of Shareholders at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort & Conference Centre in Kelowna, B.C., Tuesday, April 8, 2014. (Marketwired / Scotiabank)

TORONTO -- Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter is calling on Ottawa to boost its spending on infrastructure projects, citing the Energy East Pipeline as an example.

Porter says such investments are needed given the economy's slow growth, adding that projects that transport people and natural resources should take priority.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised massive boosts to infrastructure spending, but on the subject of Energy East he has been more circumspect, saying he won't prejudge the outcome of any regulatory reviews of the controversial development.

Porter made his comments today during a speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto.