Toronto, Ontario – Infrastructure Canada

The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Finance; Russ Powers, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario; and Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto, celebrated today an agreement for the renewed federal Gas Tax Fund that provides predictable, stable funding for public infrastructure across the Province of Ontario.

The federal Gas Tax Fund provides municipalities with the flexibility to choose and plan infrastructure projects based on their specific priorities. The renewed agreements will govern the flow of federal funds to each province and territory over the next 10 years, from 2014-15 until 2023-24.

Since 2006, significant improvements have been made to the Gas Tax Fund. It has been extended, doubled, indexed and made permanent. By enshrining these commitments in legislation, provinces, territories and municipalities are assured of an ongoing funding stream to address their municipal infrastructure needs and priorities.

Under the renewed Gas Tax Fund, eligible categories have also been expanded, providing municipalities with more flexibility than ever before to support local infrastructure.

With this agreement, the Government of Canada is ensuring a seamless transition to the New Building Canada Plan, the largest long-term federal commitment to investing in Canada's public infrastructure in our nation's history.

Quick facts

• Canada's Gas Tax Fund transfer has provided $13 billion to Canadian communities to date. Over the 10-year life of the New Building Canada Plan from 2014 to 2024, the Gas Tax Fund will provide close to $22 billion in funding for municipalities.
• In total, the New Building Canada Plan will provide $53 billion in funding to communities across the country over the next decade. For Ontario, this represents approximately $11 billion in dedicated federal funding, including more than $2.7 billion under the New Building Canada Fund and an estimated $8.12 billion under the federal Gas Tax Fund*. Ontario also stands to benefit from the Government of Canada's Government of Canada's following national funding programs:
  • $4 billion available across the country for projects of national significance;
  • $1.25 billion in additional funding available for P3 projects;
  • $10.4 billion via the GST Rebate, which provides municipalities across the country with additional resources to address their infrastructure priorities.
• Based on the 2012 construction season, Ontario and its 444 municipalities used their annual Gas Tax Fund allocations to support over 1,700 local infrastructure projects. These projects included close to 1,000 local road and bridge projects, over 200 public transit projects and 300 water and wastewater projects, amongst others.
• For example, during the last construction season the federal Gas Tax Fund supported projects such as:
  • rehabilitation of Industrial Road and Irvine Drive in the Town of Prescott resulting in safe, smooth roads and reduced greenhouse gas emissions;
  • new LED streetlights in the Village of Ayton, part of the Municipality of West Grey, resulting in energy savings;
  • a new green bin, recycling and curbside waste pick up program in the Town of Cochrane, resulting in less waste being sent to landfill;
  • resurfacing 1.6 kilometres of road in the Fowler Local Road Board area of northwestern Ontario, resulting in a safer, smoother road;
  • installing a 50 metre-long culvert liner in the Mills and Harty Local Road Board area of northeastern Ontario, resulting in cost savings and enhanced protection from flooding;
  • the purchase and delivery of Wheel-Trans Buses in the City of Toronto, which provide door-to-door accessible service transit for people with physical functional mobility limitations.
• Eligible investment categories under this Fund include: drinking water; wastewater; solid waste; public transit; local roads and bridges; community energy systems; capacity building; disaster mitigation; broadband connectivity; highways; short-line rail; short-sea shipping; brownfield redevelopment; regional and local airports; and projects supporting culture, tourism, sport and recreation.

[*]NOTE: GTF funding by jurisdiction for the first five years (2014-2019) is based on 2011 Census data. GTF funding for 2019-2024 will be based on 2016 Census data. For illustrative purposes, Census 2011 data has been used for all 10 years. Due to the indexation of the GTF, funding for 2019-2024 is expected to be at least equal to GTFfunding for the first five years.

Quotes

"Our Government's commitment to communities has never been stronger. Through our unprecedented financial support for public infrastructure, we are ensuring communities across the country enjoy a high standard of living, new economic opportunities, and a safe, healthy environment. We are proud to support economic growth across Ontario by supporting your infrastructure priorities through the federal Gas Tax Fund. We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Ontario, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the City of Toronto, which will make this important funding available and allow communities to address their specific infrastructure priorities."

- The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Finance, on behalf of the HonourableDenis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities, and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec

"We are proud to have reached an Agreement with the federal government that extends this essential source of infrastructure funding for Ontario's municipalities. The Gas Tax Fund is one of the few predictable, long-term sources of infrastructure funding. AMO is again pleased to be the Fund administrator. With our Agreement finalized, it's time to put shovels in the ground."

- Mr. Russ Powers, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario

"The City of Toronto appreciates the federal government's commitment to municipalities with the new, permanent Gas Tax Fund program, which will allow Toronto to make important investments in its local infrastructure over the next 10 years. Since 2005, the Federal Gas Tax Fund has provided more than $1 billion for essential transit infrastructure projects in Toronto, including the purchase of new and improved Toronto Rocket subways."

- His Worship Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto

src:news.gc.ca