Backgrounder - Funding Criteria under the Building Canada Fund

November 6, 2007

The Government of Canada’s $33-billion Building Canada infrastructure plan will provide funding for strategic investments in projects designed to produce results in three areas of national importance: a growing economy, a clean environment and strong and prosperous communities. In particular, the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund will help provinces, territories and municipalities to address urgent public infrastructure priorities. Following are the categories and some of the funding criteria under the Building Canada Fund.

A Strong Economy

To build a more competitive and prosperous economy, Building Canada will invest in:

Core National Highway System

Building Canada will promote investments in Canada’s core National Highway System:

1. To support Canada’s trade and tourism flow, both inter-provincially and internationally.
   
2. To increase the efficiency and improve the safety and mobility of the transportation system.
   
3. To 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.

Rehabilitation projects must meet the definition of ‘rehabilitation’ as agreed upon by the Council of Ministers in 2005.  Intelligent Transportation Systems projects also will be eligible.

Short-Sea Shipping

Building Canada will stimulate investments that support short-sea shipping infrastructure:

• To promote Canada’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.
  
  
• To help reduce congestion on highways and at border crossings.

Eligible projects will include investments in new infrastructure, or the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, to directly support short-sea shipping capacity and/or new routes (excluding vessels), such as specialized marine terminal intermodal facilities and specialized loading/unloading capitalized equipment. In addition the procurement of technology and equipment used to improve the interface between the marine and rail/highways modes will also be eligible under this category.

Shortline Railways

Building Canada will encourage investment in shortline railways:

• To promote Canada’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.
  
  
• To help reduce congestion on highways and at border crossings.

Eligible projects are limited to freight and will include the construction, rehabilitation and/or upgrading of tracks and structures for safe and efficient operations, and the construction of lines by shortline railway companies to allow a railway to serve new customers.

Local and Regional Airports

Building Canada will support investments in local and regional airports:

• To promote Canada’s regional economic development.
  
  
• To improve the efficiency and accessibility of these facilities.

Improvement projects must be financially supported by provincial/local/regional governments, and generate regional economic benefits and be sustainable on a long-term basis, as demonstrated by a sound business plan. The federal government will continue to provide the Airports Capital Assistance Program to support safety-related projects.

Connectivity and Broadband

Building Canada 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.

In order to promote competitiveness, funding criteria will require that the project proponents conduct a commercially and technologically neutral Request for Proposals.  In addition, the projects will be required to provide for third-party open access.

Tourism

Building Canada 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 or the region as a leading destination for Canadian and international visitors.

Funding criteria will require that proponents of convention centre or exhibition-hall type projects demonstrate that their projects will have a significant economic and/or regional impact.

A Clean Environment

Building Canada will support a cleaner environment through investments in:

Wastewater Infrastructure

Building Canada 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;
  
  
• Improve the quality of treated municipal wastewater effluent and storm-water discharged into the environment.

Further, emphasis will be placed on projects that result in wastewater treated to a higher standard, usually a secondary level of treatment or better. In addition, projects will have to be supported by other measures that reduce the amount of pollution going into wastewater streams and that improve the management of wastewater infrastructure.

Public Transit

Building Canada 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’s cities 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.

Furthermore, any public transit passenger infrastructure purchased with federal funding must be accessible for persons with disabilities.

Green Energy

Building Canada will stimulate investments in sustainable energy infrastructure that contribute to:

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

Funding for projects in this category will be complementary to other initiatives under the Government of Canada’s ecoEnergy plan, but will not duplicate them.  Projects that feature renewable sources of energy generation, as well as district heating or cooling will be encouraged.

Solid Waste Management

Building Canada will promote investments in solid-waste processing infrastructure that can reduce the environmental impacts of this waste. As a result, funding criteria will emphasize the diversion of solid waste out of the waste stream as well as measures that support the reduction and management of solid waste.

Strong and Prosperous Communities

Building Canada will support investments in:

Drinking Water

Building Canada promotes long-term funding for water infrastructure projects designed to:

• Improve the safety, management, reliability and efficiency of Canada’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;
  
  
• Improve protection and management of drinking water sources;
  
  
• Improve conservation of water.

Funding will focus on improved treatment standards that emphasize the protection of human health. In addition, projects will have to be supported by other measures that improve the management of sources of drinking water, reduce demand and improve the management of drinking water infrastructure.

Disaster Mitigation

Building Canada 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.

Funding will be limited to structural mitigation projects, but must be supported by appropriate non-structural mitigation measures. In addition, projects must be supported by appropriate risk assessments that demonstrate the need for the structural mitigation.

Brownfield Redevelopment

Building Canada 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 cities and communities.

Funding criteria will require that any decontamination or remediation is done as part of a larger public infrastructure redevelopment project. Projects will also have to be supported by Environmental Site Assessments and remediation action plans.

Local Roads

Building Canada will support investments in local roads:

• To improve road safety, mobility and sustainability;
  
  
• To promote the rehabilitation of bridges, tunnels and other structures;
  
  
• To support economic and community development.

For large-scale investments, new capacity projects will be limited to major arterials and urban bypasses, and will require transit features as a key component. Projects must be compatible with official development plans or other strategies to promote the sustainable development of the municipal area in which they take place.

Sport

Building Canada 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.

Funding criteria will require that proponents of sport infrastructure projects demonstrate that their project will have a significant economic and/or regional impact.

Culture

Building Canada 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.

Funding criteria will require proponents of cultural infrastructure projects demonstrate that their project will have a significant economic and/or regional impact.