| July
31st, 2008
Building
Canada
in
Ontario
Late
last week, federal Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and
Communities Lawrence Cannon and Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty,
announced the signing of an infrastructure Framework Agreement
worth more than $6.2 billion under Building Canada for
Ontario
, the Government of Canada’s long-term infrastructure plan.
The
Plan will help address infrastructure needs and priorities in
Ontario
until 2014. In fact,
across
Canada
, this is the
largest infrastructure investment ever made by a federal
Government since World War II.
It’s a $33 billion, 7-year plan to modernize
infrastructure in the country.
Building
Canada
will allow our Government to continue to provide real results to
the people, cities and communities of
Ontario
such as clean drinking water, safer highways, expanded public
transit and improved broadband connectivity in rural communities.
The
Framework Agreement sets the stage for a collaborative investment
in the infrastructure needs in
Ontario
. Under this Agreement, approximately $3.09 billion from the
Building Canada Fund, a centrepiece of the overall plan, will go
towards infrastructure initiatives in
Ontario
through two components: more than $2.73 billion in funding
will support larger-scale projects; while under the Communities
Component; $362 million in funding will be available for
partnership investments in communities with populations less than
100,000.
Ontario
will match federal funding, meaning that more than $6 billion will
be made available for
Ontario
communities.
Further,
under the Building Canada Plan, the Government of Canada will
provide $25 million in
base funding annually, for a total of $175 million
through to 2014 for core infrastructure priorities in
Ontario
. A further $2.98 billion will flow to
Ontario
municipalities through the extension of the federal Gas Tax Fund
agreement from 2010 to 2014.
I’m
sure many of my municipal colleagues would agree when I say that substantial
infrastructure funding was long overdue in this country and I am
proud to say that we are moving forward on this file.
I
know from speaking with many community groups interested in this
assistance that this deal has been a long time coming, but in the
end, I’m happy to see that the federal government has signed the
Framework Agreement with the
Province
of
Ontario
. It will greatly benefit our cities and communities by helping
ensure a more competitive economy, stronger communities, a cleaner
environment, and a more prosperous
Ontario
.
For
further information on the Building Canada plan, visit www.buildingcanada.gc.ca
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