On Parliament Hill

Communities here in Provencher, like everywhere in Canada, face the challenge of keeping up with infrastructure demands.

Last week, I was pleased to announce that the first installment of the federal Gas Tax Fund for 2014 was made available to support local infrastructure priorities. With this instalment, over $5 Million is being made available to municipalities right here in Provencher.

The federal Gas Tax Fund is the largest component of the New Building Canada Plan, which will provide $53 billion in funding to communities across the country over the next decade.

Since forming government in 2006, our Government has made significant improvements to the Gas Tax Fund. In 2007 it was extended through its original program end date to 2014, and a year later we doubled it from $1 billion to $2 billion annually. In 2011 it was legislated as a permanent source of funding, and in 2013 it was indexed at 2 percent per year.

We have also recently made changes that will now allow communities to apply their Gas Tax funding to a wider variety of projects to meet their particular infrastructure priorities. Thanks to the expanded eligible investment categories, funding can now be spent in areas such as drinking water, wastewater, local roads and bridges, disaster mitigation, highways, broadband connectivity and projects supporting culture, tourism, sport and recreation.

Through the federal Gas Tax Fund, our Government is providing stable, predictable funding so that Canadian communities can address their local infrastructure priorities. Our Government is proud to invest in important infrastructure projects as we focus on creating jobs, promoting growth, and building strong, prosperous communities across Canada.