As with his counterpart in Huron-Bruce, MPP Lisa Thompson, MPP Bill Walker Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound has announced that the Ontario government is making another investment in small, rural and northern communities through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) for infrastructure needs.
This year, municipalities in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound will receive $5,944,642 in funding to address their local community infrastructure needs.
“As your MPP, I am upholding my commitment to support our local municipalities by creating jobs, attracting economic growth and investment, and making our community the best place to live and grow,” said Walker. “This funding will help build and repair roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure in our community.”
Total investment in communities across Bruce – Grey – Owen Sound are as follows:
* Township of Chatsworth: $125,064
* Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula: $181,355
* Town of South Bruce Peninsula: $204,075
* Township of Georgian Bluffs: $224,363
* Town of Hanover: $233,348
* Township of Southgate: $236,674
* Municipality of Arran-Elderslie: $330,386
* Municipality of Grey Highlands: $436,207
* Municipality of West Grey: $448,807
* Municipality of Meaford: $458,173
* City of Owen Sound: $1,125,294
* County of Grey: $1,279,946
* County of Bruce: $660,950
This funding is a part of Ontario’s approximately $200 million commitment to 424 communities addressing their core infrastructure projects and asset management planning needs in 2020.
“This investment provides the predictable and stable infrastructure funding small, rural and northern municipalities have asked for,” said Laurie Scott, Minister of Infrastructure. “With this OCIF funding we are working directly with our municipal partners to deliver community infrastructure.”
Recognizing that municipalities have different infrastructure needs, the province uses a straightforward and transparent formula that examines various social and economic factors to determine funding allocations across the province.
The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund provides stable and predictable funding for communities with populations under 100,000, along with all rural and northern communities.
Approximately $200 million in formula-based funding was allocated to small, rural and northern communities for 2019. Municipalities may accumulate their formula funding for up to five years to address larger infrastructure projects.
Ontario also provides funding to communities through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), a $30-billion, 10-year infrastructure program cost-shared between federal, provincial and municipal governments. Ontario’s share per project will be up to 33.33 per cent, or $10.2 billion spread across four streams: Rural and Northern, Public Transit, Green, and Community, Culture and Recreation.
