The Association of Municipalities Conference in Windsor wrapped up Wednesday and two local mayors are very pleased with discussions with various provincial dignitaries.
Both Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison and Prince Edward County Mayor Robert Quaiff agreed the best news to come out of the three day conference was the launch of the intake process for federal government’s new Clean Water and Wastewater Fund and Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.
Speaking at the conference, Premier Kathleen Wynne said funding for the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund will be allocated fairly and transparently, using a formula similar to the one for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), including a minimum base allocation for all recipients. Municipalities will also be able to apply their OCIF formula grants toward the municipal contribution for these projects. The Premier also said the province will work to make more support available beyond OCIF funding, where required, to assist municipalities.
Quaiff says is was music to his ears given the County has $100 million in upcoming water and wastewater projects.
Meanwhile, Mayor Harrison says he’s hopeful this means good news for Phase 2 of Trenton’s waste water treatment plant which is expected to cost between $35 and $40 million.
As announced in the 2016 Federal Budget, the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund will be allocated based on transit ridership numbers. The province is working with the federal government and municipal partners to announce more details when the application intake opens in September.
Ontario is investing about $160 billion over 12 years in schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and transit — the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history. These investments are supporting more than 110,000 jobs a year, on average.
The federal Clean Water and Wastewater Fund will provide more than $560 million for Ontario over the next two years to support critical, shovel-ready water, wastewater and stormwater projects across the province. The intake process begins in September.
