OTTAWA — The Government of Canada recently announced it is taking action to make its infrastructure plan more responsive to the changing needs of provinces and territories.
Integrated bilateral agreements with the government are now place for each of the 13 provincial and territorial governments.
According to a release issued by Infrastructure Canada, Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of infrastructure and communities, recently outlined a few ways the government is making the terms and conditions of the bilateral agreements more responsive to the needs of provinces and territories:
- by simplifying the process proposed projects are approved, including streamlining the application process, launching an online portal for project applications to be submitted more easily and having a dedicated team of officials to guide large project proposals through approvals;
- supporting more infrastructure renewal in rural and northern communities including making federal funding available to cover a portion of the costs associated with planning infrastructure projects in communities with a population of less than 5,000 people;
- increasing broadband access and improving high-speed Internet access in rural communities. Broadband projects undertaken in the provinces with for-profit recipients will qualify for a larger share of federal funding;
- promoting a relationship with Indigenous peoples about proposed infrastructure projects, which will be retroactively eligible for federal funding; and
- supporting territorial governments in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Proposed projects that are eligible for federally funded energy retrofits will be expanded to include territorial administrative buildings, community administrative buildings and emergency services infrastructure in the territories.
“Building infrastructure is not just about assembling bricks and mortar. It’s also about building bridges of common understanding among all levels of government so we can all deliver for Canadians,” said Champagne in a statement.
“In responding to the needs expressed by other orders of government, the Government of Canada is adjusting the terms of its infrastructure plan to make them flexible enough to support the unique and evolving needs of our provincial and territorial partners, which collectively own more than 98 per cent of all public infrastructure in this country. Our infrastructure plan is ambitious and national and most of all, it is local.”
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed