Municipal Affairs and Environment
November 23, 2017

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Eddie Joyce, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment:

Investing in Municipal Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to highlight the strides being made through our three-year municipal infrastructure program to build safe and sustainable communities.

We have been working together with municipal councils and residents, and in September, along with the Federal Government, announced that $29.3 million had been allocated for 77 municipal infrastructure projects under the Small Communities Fund of the New Building Canada Fund. We also announced $9.5 million for 28 communities under our provincial Municipal Capital Works program. This is in addition to the $70 million allocated in Budget 2017 over the next three years for the Multi-Year Capital Works Program.

Recently, we issued another call for applications that included municipal capital works projects and Small Communities Fund Projects, as well as those that may be available under new federal infrastructure programs. This application process will allow us to commence project funding early in 2018-19 as priority projects will have been identified in advance of the budget.

Mr. Speaker, by laying out our long-term plan to 2019-20, we are allowing communities to start projects that respond to their individual needs. We continue to update information so that municipalities can better plan and manage budgets, resources, and ongoing infrastructure projects with upcoming infrastructure investment opportunities.

As part of The Way Forward, we committed to strategically leverage all available federal funding. This includes Phase 2 of the Investing in Canada Plan: a 10-year program to be announced for 2018.

Infrastructure projects that support clean water, wastewater management, and disaster mitigation have been prioritized by residents and government. The initiatives we are investing in drive industry, improve the economy, and promote employment, which in turn gives our young people greater opportunities within their communities and greater opportunity to raise their own families here.

Thank you.

2017 11 23                              1:50 p.m.