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The October 2018 briefing note, written by then-head of investments Nicholas Hann, was also sent to board chair Janice Fukakusa. It recommends that the government’s current spending on telecommunications — much of which subsidizes projects from the private sector — be entirely stopped.

“This existing spend could be used as the basis for a holistic public utility model which in turn could cheaply be expanded for retail consumer use,” reads the briefing.

In particular, the report argues, a public utility would be more efficient for building rural infrastructure than paying private companies to do so. The federal Liberals have allocated $536.6 million since 2016 to subsidize rural infrastructure built almost entirely by private telecommunications companies.

Photo by Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg

“A scale approach accordingly renders economic rural infrastructure which under a profit maximizing ROI approach would not be built,” the briefing says.

CIB did not directly reply to questions regarding whether it plans to launch a public utility or is still interested in making any of the specific investments listed in the report.

“While we can’t comment on any specific project for commercial sensitivity reasons, we are open to governments and investors bringing forward proposals,” said Félix Corriveau, senior director of media relations at the bank. “This internal note is a year old by a former CIB employee and that context matters.” The report’s author, Hann, left in July after 10 months on the job. He did not have another job lined up when he left, and said he would be willing to return if things changed — a move some in the industry took as a criticism of the bank’s leadership. Hann did not reply to a request for comment.