Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton along with Steinbach Mayor and president of Association of Manitoba Municipalities, Chris Goertzen, announced that the Manitoba government is investing $2.25 million in funding for municipal roads.
“Investing in municipal infrastructure ensures our communities can sustain continued, long-term growth,” said Wharton. “Maintaining our municipal roads helps to increase economic activity, extended asset life, improve public safety and community development. Our roads are pipelines for the flow of both goods and services, and improvements ensure that our province will continue to see increased economic activity.”
The $2.25 million in Municipal Road Improvement Program funding was made available to ensure a smooth transition while government is restructuring program delivery models to reduce red tape, eliminate program duplication and ensure value for money, the minister said. Restructuring program delivery allows for a strategic approach to planning and budgeting for both the province and municipalities, he added. To ensure a seamless transition, 30 projects in 30 municipalities plus funding for 18 northern affairs communities have been approved in 2018 for a total of $2.25 million. In addition to this funding, over $6 million is being provided to municipalities this year from previous commitments under this program.
“There are many grant programs that are available to municipalities across government including the recently announced Canada-Manitoba Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program bilateral agreement that will provide more than $1.17 billion in federal funding over the next decade for infrastructure projects throughout Manitoba,” said Wharton.
“The AMM is pleased to be at the table working in partnership with the Province of Manitoba to select projects for this essential program,” said Goertzen. “Infrastructure remains a top priority for municipalities and we will continue to advocate for building strong communities through streamlined cost-shared infrastructure funding programs with other orders of government.”
Consultations were undertaken in September 2016 to begin a transition out of traditional capital infrastructure delivery and into a more flexible approach that gives municipalities a fair say, added Wharton.
