Canada's high-tech industry is calling on the federal government to commit $60 billion for infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, which represents some 33,000 high-tech executives and their companies, said spending on roads, bridges, mass transit, green technologies and information and communications technologies is the best way to get the country's sluggish economy moving again.

CATA president John Reid said the $60-billion price tag is in line with the $500-billion stimulus package being pushed forward in the United States by president-elect Barack Obama.

"We have never gone through anything like this," said Reid in a statement. "The economy has flat-lined, and my members tell me that even the high-tech services sector, which is normally resistant to recession, is feeling the freeze."

Reid said high-tech infrastructure spending should focus on expanding broadband across the country, promoting green technologies, improving health-care resources and providing tax credits for companies that market new and innovative products.

CATA is the latest group to call for a stimulus package to be added to the next federal budget. On Monday, Atlantic province premiers called for major investment in roads, railways and ports through the Atlantic Gateway project.