Ontario Communities Benefit from Partnership Investment

$1-billion Communities Component of Building Canada Fund Announced, $200 million in first intake made available by federal and provincial governments

• Backgrounder

Ottawa, Ontario, August 26, 2008 – Residents of smaller communities across Ontario can look forward to improved infrastructure thanks to a partnership that will provide a total of $724 million in federal and provincial funding under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund. With matching contributions from communities, this investment is expected to rise to more than $1 billion.

In the first intake, the federal and provincial governments are providing a combined total of $200 million for Ontario communities. Through the program, Ontario municipalities also contribute one-third of project costs, matching the federal and provincial contributions. All project categories will be eligible for the first intake. Projects will be evaluated by a federal-provincial committee through a competitive application-based process.

Through to 2014, the federal and provincial governments will each invest $362 million, to help meet local infrastructure needs of Ontario communities with populations under 100,000 people. The Communities Component will fund key priorities including cleaner water and better waste management.

“Today’s announcement is a significant step forward in helping communities through the Building Canada plan in Ontario,” said Canada’s Environment Minister and Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean, John Baird. “The Communities Component of Building Canada provides funding for infrastructure projects in smaller communities, helping them meet their unique challenges. This Government believes in making Ontario’s economy stronger while contributing to a cleaner environment.”

“With the signing of the Communities Component Agreement, we can now get much needed infrastructure dollars to Ontario’s small towns and rural communities as quickly as possible,” said Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean, Jim Watson. “This is another example of how the McGuinty government is keeping Ontario moving with targeted investments that matter to people in their everyday lives.”

The Building Canada Fund Communities Component will fund 17 categories of infrastructure: drinking water, wastewater, public transit, green energy, disaster mitigation, solid waste management, culture, sport, connectivity, local roads, the Core National Highway System, short-sea shipping, shortline railways, local and regional airports, tourism, and brownfield redevelopment. Capacity building projects can also be supported through this fund.

Applications for funding will be available online at the Ontario BCF Communities Component website by September 12, 2008. More information on the application process will be provided to municipalities when the program is launched.

On July 24, 2008, Canada and Ontario announced an Infrastructure Framework Agreement worth more than $6.2 billion in federal funding under the Building Canada Plan. The Communities Component is part of the Building Canada Fund, which was a key element of this agreement.

Through its unprecedented $33-billion Building Canada infrastructure plan, the federal government is providing long-term, stable and predictable funding to help meet infrastructure needs across Canada. Building Canada will support a stronger, safer and better country.

Through ReNew Ontario, the province’s five-year infrastructure investment plan, Ontario will invest more than $30 billion by 2010. The province is currently developing a long-term comprehensive strategy for additional investment in infrastructure that Ontario families depend on, totaling at least $60 billion.

Ministers Baird and Watson made today’s announcement on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Honourable George Smitherman, Ontario Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.

For further information contact:

Jean-Maurice Duplessis
Press SecretaryOffice of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
(613) 991-0700

Amy Tang
Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister
Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
(416) 327-6747

Infrastructure Canada
(613) 948-1148

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Backgrounder:
Building Canada Communities Component in Ontario

Building Canada Fund Communities Component:

On July 24, 2008, the federal and provincial governments signed the Building Canada plan Framework Agreement. The Framework Agreement governs the Building Canada Fund, Provincial and Territorial Base Funding and formalizes the commitment to the Federal Gas Tax funding extension.

Ontario’s share of the Building Canada Fund (BCF) is $3.09 billion. Ontario will match the federal funding, meaning approximately $6.2 billion will be made available for investments in our province’s infrastructure.

The Building Canada Fund has two components. Under the Major Infrastructure Component, Canada and Ontario will both contribute more than $2.73 billion towards larger, strategic projects of national and regional significance. Under the Communities Component, Canada and Ontario will both contribute $362 million towards smaller projects in communities with population less than 100,000.

The Building Canada plan Framework Agreement requires that an agreement be put in place to guide the implementation of the BCF Communities Component. The BCF Communities Component agreement is the necessary next step before we can launch a first intake of applications.

Ontario Communities Component first round intake:

In the first intake, which will be launched September 12, the federal and provincial governments are providing a combined total of $200 million for Ontario communities. Details regarding the first round of application intakes will be made available shortly. During this intake, it is expected that only one application can be submitted by or on behalf of each municipality. Applications across 17 categories will be accepted during this intake. Future intakes will be announced at a later date.

All requests for project funding under the Communities Component will be subject to a competitive, application-based process. This process will be administered by a Joint Secretariat made up of federal delivery partners and provincial officials. The Secretariat will provide the first level of due diligence, including an engineering, environmental, and legal review of the applications. The Secretariat will prepare briefing material for the Oversight Committee. The Oversight Committee will review and rank the applications against program criteria, and recommend projects for approval.

Funding Categories

CORE NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM - The BCF Communities Component will promote investments in Canada and Ontario’s Core National Highway System to:
Support Canada and Ontario’s trade and tourism flow, both inter-provincially and internationally.

• Increase the efficiency and improve the safety and mobility of the transportation system.
  
  
• Support new capacity, improved access to border crossings and multi-modal facilities, and safety and rehabilitation Projects on highways that form part of the Core National Highway System, including bridges.

SHORT-SEA SHIPPING - The BCF Communities Component will stimulate investments that support short-sea shipping infrastructure to:

• Promote Canada and Ontario’s competitiveness, trade and quality of life by helping to optimize the use of all transportation modes, and by contributing to the sustainability of the transportation system.
  
  
• Help reduce congestion on highways and at border crossings.

SHORTLINE RAILWAYS - The BCF Communities Component will encourage investment in shortline railways to:

• Promote Canada and Ontario’s competitiveness, trade and quality of life by helping to optimize the use of all transportation modes, and by contributing to the sustainability of the transportation system.
  
  
• Help reduce congestion on highways and at border crossings.

LOCAL AND REGIONAL AIRPORTS - The BCF Communities Component will support investments in local and regional airports to:

• Promote Canada and Ontario’s regional economic development.
  
  
• Improve the efficiency and accessibility of these facilities.

CONNECTIVITY AND BROADBAND - The BCF Communities Component funding in this category will be directed towards Projects designed to:

• Improve the delivery of public services, such as government services, education and health;
  
  
• Improve quality of life, social development, reduce travel requirements, and increase the potential for innovation and economic development by connecting Canadians —particularly in rural and remote communities.

TOURISM - The BCF Communities Component funding in this category will be directed towards the construction or improvement of convention centres or exhibition hall-type facilities that:

• Increase the number of visitors to the community, and the length and quality of stay of those visitors;
  
  
• Promote Canada and Ontario as a leading destination for Canadian and international visitors.

WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE - The BCF Communities Component will encourage investments in wastewater infrastructure designed to:

• Reduce the negative impacts of municipal wastewater effluent or storm-water effluent on human health and the environment;
  
  
• Improve the management of wastewater sludge;
  
  
• Improve the management and efficiency of municipal wastewater infrastructure or storm-water Infrastructure, including improvements to the energy efficiency of the Infrastructure;
  
  
• Improve the quality of treated municipal wastewater effluent and storm-water discharged into the environment.

PUBLIC TRANSIT - The BCF Communities Component will encourage investments in public transit infrastructure:

• To support transit systems within cities, communities and urban regions to promote mobility and improved travel times, and to reduce urban congestion;
  
  
• To construct, improve or restore public transit infrastructure that contributes to economic, environmental and social sustainability in Canada and Ontario’s municipalities and communities.
  
  
• Large-scale transit infrastructure expansion Projects will be required to incorporate Transportation Demand Management measures to help build ridership and improve environmental outcomes.

GREEN ENERGY - The BCF Communities Component will stimulate investments in sustainable energy infrastructure that contribute to:

• Increased availability and/or security of Canada and Ontario’s clean energy supply;
  
  
• Increased availability of renewable energy;
  
  
• Improved air quality;
  
  
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT - The BCF Communities Component will promote investments in solid-waste processing infrastructure that can reduce the environmental impacts of this waste.

DRINKING WATER - The BCF Communities Component promotes long-term funding for water infrastructure Projects designed to:

• Improve the safety, management, reliability and efficiency of Canada and Ontario’s drinking water treatment and distribution systems;
  
  
• Increase the number of households with access to safe drinking water that meets or exceeds the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality and Ontario’s drinking water quality requirements;
  
  
• Improve protection and management of drinking water sources;
  
  
• Improve conservation of water.
  

DISASTER MITIGATION - The BCF Communities Component investments will be directed towards Projects that will reduce the vulnerability of a community or public infrastructure to the negative impacts of extreme natural events, including adverse events related to climate change.

BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT - The BCF Communities Component investments will be directed towards Projects designed to contribute to:

• The removal or neutralization of the negative effects of brownfields on communities and the environment by remediating and redeveloping these properties in a sustainable manner;
  
  
• More intense land use within municipalities and communities.

LOCAL ROADS - The BCF Communities Component will support investments in local roads to:

• Improve road safety, mobility and sustainability;
  
  
• Promote the rehabilitation of bridges, tunnels and other structures;
  
  
• Support economic and community development.

SPORT - The BCF Communities Component funding in this category will be directed towards Projects designed to:

• Provide increased opportunities for sport activities that can improve the health of Canadians and strengthen Canadian communities;
  
  
• Provide increased opportunities for the development of Canadian athletes and/or the hosting of major amateur athletic events.

CULTURE - The BCF Communities Component funding in this category will be directed towards projects that:

• Support arts and/or designated heritage facilities;
  
  
• Help communities express, preserve, develop and promote their culture and/or heritage within Canada and Ontario.

COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS - The capacity building component will be based on the principles outlined in Section 3.5.3 of the Framework Agreement and relate to the achievement of at least one of the following strategic objectives:

• Promote the implementation of holistic approaches to public infrastructure planning and management, and sustainable community planning principles;
  
  
• Encourage a culture of using integrated life cycle asset management as a decision-making approach;
  
  
• Promote the integration of demand management in public infrastructure planning and management;
  
  
• Encourage dissemination of Project results to other Local Governments; and
  
  
• Support collaborative feasibility studies for specific infrastructure Projects which at the time of the study are not being actively considered for funding under the BCF Communities Component and planning studies on public infrastructure Projects and issues.