Funding approved for 289 projects in small town Ontario

Last Friday, the Honourable John Baird, Canada’s Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Minister announced that Canada and the province of Ontario had together approved funding for 289 infrastructure projects worth $1 billion in communities of fewer than 100,000 people.

The 289 projects are being classed as “Intake One” of the Communities Component under the Building Canada Fund. Nearly 85% per cent of the project applications under this category had been approved for funding.

The announcement was part of the governments effort to get “shovels in the ground” and stimulate the economy. George Smitherman, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure joined John Baird in making the statement.  All the projects will be funded by a 3-way split between the federal, provincial and municipal governments, so the federal and provincial commitment of the $1 billion announcement is $670-million.

The list of approved projects included improvements to local roads, water and wastewater treatment systems, and facilities for tourism, airports, and sports venues.  While most of the funding was under $10 million for each project, there were a few larger items, such as a $25 million sports facility in Bradford West Gwillimbury in the central region, a $17 million tourism facility in Brockville, and a $39 million Short Sea Shipping Infrastructure in Edwardsburg/Cardinal Township, both in eastern Ontario. A $30 million wastewater project in Dryden and a $13-million wastewater project in Muskoka made the list in northern region, and a $20 million sport facility was approved for Port Colborne in the south central region.

To see the full list of approved projects, visit http://www.bcfontario.ca/english/news/pdfs/b20090213-eng.pdf