PETERBOROUGH COUNTY — The governments of Canada and Ontario recognize the different ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted smaller communities across the province. While moving towards recovery, investments in infrastructure in rural and northern Ontario are vital to successful, sustainable communities and their economies. .
Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development; the Honourable Laurie Scott, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure; and J. Murray Jones, Warden of Peterborough County, announced funding for 10 road and bridge projects in Central and Eastern Ontario.
In Peterborough County, improvements are being made to approximately 1.4 kilometres of the J.A. Gifford Causeway, including repairs to the Chemong Bridge. An additional 5.3 kilometres on Yankee Line (County Road 14) are also being rehabilitated. This is a joint project by Peterborough County and the Township of Selwyn. These improvements will increase safety for motorists and pedestrians, and extend the life of the bridge and roadway for many years.
Other projects include road improvements in Asphodel-Norwood, Beausoleil First Nation, Collingwood, and Hiawatha First Nation. In addition, bridge repairs and replacements will create safer and more efficient conditions for users of the roadway in Adjala-Tosorontio, Faraday, Highlands East, Minden Hills, and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
The Government of Canada is investing over $22 million in these projects through the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream (RNIS) of the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan. The Government of Ontario is contributing more than $10 million. Municipalities and First Nation communities are each contributing over $5 million towards the projects.The governments of Canada and Ontario are working in collaboration with their partners to support jobs, improve communities and build confidence as we safely and sustainably restore economic growth.
Quick Facts
- Through the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, the Government of Canada is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada’s rural and northern communities.
- $2 billion of this funding is supporting infrastructure projects that meet the unique needs of rural and northern communities like facilities to support food security, local access roads and enhanced broadband connectivity.
- Ontario is investing $10.2 billion under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green, and rural and northern community infrastructure.
- The Rural Economic Development Strategy leverages ongoing federal investments and provides a vision for the future, identifying practical steps to take in the short term, and serving as a foundation to guide further work.
- Central to Canada’s Connectivity Strategy are historic new investments that are mobilizing up to $6 billion toward universal connectivity. They include a top-up to the Connect to Innovate Program, a new Universal Broadband Fund, and investments from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
- On June 3, 2020, Ontario announced it was investing $150 million to launch the Improving Connectivity in Ontario program to fund broadband infrastructure projects in rural, remote and underserved regions of Ontario. This is part of the province’s $315 million initiative Up to Speed: Ontario’s Broadband and Cellular Action Plan……(Readmore)