Infrastructure funding agreement another step towards Fairness

Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr is encouraged by the Framework Agreement signed today by the Federal and Provincial governments under the Federal infrastructure plan. The agreement, which promises to invest $6.2 billion into Ontario infrastructure over seven years, is a welcome sign of commitment to address serious challenges facing Halton Region and other Ontario municipalities.

“This is promising news for Ontario municipalities who struggle with finding solutions to their aging infrastructure and accommodating population growth targets of the Province’s Growth Plan,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. “Regional Council has been advocating for this kind of collaborative investment as part of the Fairness for Halton Campaign. I look forward to working with both levels of government to make sure Halton gets its fair share of the funding.

Previous efforts by Halton Region to get growth-related infrastructure funding commitments from the Federal government have been largely unsuccessful. The Fairness for Halton Campaign was established to address the fact that Halton Region cannot accommodate the growth targets specified in the Province’s Places to Grow Plan without adequate financial tools and funding commitments from the Federal and Provincial governments for municipal infrastructure and social service needs.

According to Chair Carr, today’s announcement means that calls for collaboration and creative solutions are being heard.

“The Federal government initially told us that they are not in the pothole business, so it is encouraging to see them step up and join with the Province to deliver this announcement,” said Chair Carr. “Infrastructure funding is critical to ensuring the continued prosperity and high quality of life for our current and projected population. The next step is for all of us to work together to see what this will mean for Halton.”

The announcement comes shortly after the release of a report arising from last month’s “Building Complete Communities” Summit, hosted by Halton Region and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), in conjunction with the GTA and Hamilton Mayors and Chairs. The summit, held on June 6, focused on getting all three levels of government to work together to address the financial costs of growth. The Post-Summit Report, along with more information about the Summit and the Fairness for Halton Campaign, can be accessed via Halton Region’s website at www.halton.ca.

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