Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen, along with Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke, recently announced a new streamlined application process for infrastructure funding.
The announcement described how the Province of Manitoba is now accepting applications through a single-window application intake for cost-shared infrastructure funding for four different grant programs – the Municipal Road and Bridge Program, the New Building Canada Fund – Small Communities Fund, the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, and the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.
“In the first 100 days of our mandate, Manitoba’s new government is proud to deliver on our promise to provide municipalities with a new streamlined process for accessing infrastructure dollars,” said Clarke. “This is an important first step in our commitment to ensure all municipalities have a ‘fair say’ on how infrastructure funds are invested in their communities. Our new single window application process will cut red tape and allow more efficient access to funding.”
Municipalities can apply for all four programs being offered through the Manitoba Municipalities online system. The deadline for applications for this funding is Aug. 26.
“Having campaigned for a ‘fair say’ for municipalities, it is gratifying to see this new approach to infrastructure funding come to fruition,” said Goertzen. “With this new single-window application process, Association of Manitoba Municipalities members can access these important infrastructure programs more easily.”
“The City of Brandon has benefited greatly from these types of federal-provincial-municipal partnerships in the past, as witnessed by our ongoing Municipal Airport Expansion/Redevelopment Project, so these newly-announced funding programs are definitely ones that we plan to take advantage of,” said Rick Chrest, Mayor of Brandon. “We will be looking at criteria for all of the funds to ensure that we leverage available federal and provincial dollars for the benefit of all Brandon residents.”
Through the 2016 Municipal Road and Bridge Program, a total of $16 million in provincial funding is available to municipalities this year, the minister said, noting the program allows for up to 50 per cent cost-shared funding for municipal road and bridge renewal projects.
The third intake of the federal-provincial Small Communities Fund, which supports infrastructure projects in communities with populations of less than 100,000, will provide up to $10.26 million in provincial funding. This program is cost-shared with the federal government, at up to one-third of total eligible costs.
The final two cost-shared programs, the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund (CWWF) and the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF), are part of the federal government’s 2016 Infrastructure Phase 1 Plan. The CWWF program is open to all Manitoba municipalities. Up to $47.63 million in provincial funding will support projects that provide communities with clean drinking water or better waste-water treatment. The PTIF program is open to recognized transit agencies, as well as all municipalities that have transit systems. Manitoba will provide up to $41.42 million for public transit improvement projects, such as new buses or upgrades to transit facilities.
The total provincial funding available through the single-window application intake is $63.84 million, Clarke said. With matching municipal and federal contributions, this intake represents a total of $212.28 million in infrastructure funding, she added.
“By working together with municipalities, as well as the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, the Province of Manitoba is identifying infrastructure priorities to build a better, stronger, more prosperous Manitoba,” Clarke said.
