Municipalities receive support for infrastructure initiatives - EnerQuality

(Press release courtesy Infrastructure Canada)

OTTAWA, March 13, 2018 /CNW/ - Investing in innovative green infrastructure projects contributes to a clean growth economy and strengthens the middle class by ensuring communities are healthy and sustainable places to live.

The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Jenny Gerbasi, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) today announced funding for 67 initiatives in communities across Canada through three programs: the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP), the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP), and the Green Municipal Fund (GMF).

Improving Canada's infrastructure lays – in large part – in the hands of the municipalities. Communities across the country want to be sure they are investing their infrastructure money wisely, and that they are ready to adapt to the potential effects of climate change as they make local infrastructure investment decisions. The projects announced today demonstrate the work being done on these fronts in municipalities large and small.

Through GMF, communities are not only improving the environment around them, they are maximizing municipal resources and improving the lives of their citizens.

In Ontario, the Township of Douro-Dummer will study the feasibility of constructing a net-zero energy centralized public works and emergency services building, which would produce at least as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. This initiative will provide an example for other small rural towns that want to improve and consolidate municipal infrastructure in environmentally sustainable ways.

Also in Ontario, among other projects, the Township of Russell and the Town of Newmarket both received funding for stormwater management studies.

MCIP, MAMP, and GMF are funded by the Government of Canada and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

For a full list of the 67 funded projects, visit the Infrastructure Canada website.

Quick facts

• The Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program is a five-year, $75-million program designed to encourage Canadian municipalities to better prepare for and adapt to the new realities of climate change as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Municipal Asset Management Program is a five-year, $50-million program designed to help Canadian municipalities strengthen infrastructure investment decisions based on sound asset management practices.
• The Green Municipal Fund is a program designed to support initiatives that demonstrate innovative solutions or approaches to a municipal environmental issue that can generate new lessons and models for communities of all sizes and types across Canada. The Government of Canada endowed FCM with $550 million to establish the program and an additional $125 million top-up was announced in Budget 2016.