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