The Ontario government is spending $1.05 billion to support projects in long-term care, education, and municipalities which Premier Doug Ford called a critical component to long-term economic recovery.
“Getting shovels in the ground on new infrastructure projects across the province will be a critical component of our path to long-term economic recovery,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a release. “Not only will this investment help communities build the necessary infrastructure to keep Ontarians safe and healthy, but these projects will create hundreds of local construction jobs and support local businesses and suppliers. It’s a win-win for the home team.”
The funding from what is called the COVID-19 Resilience stream, will provide:
- Up to $700 million for education-related projects to be nominated and administered by the Ministry of Education.
- An allocation-based program that will deliver $250 million to municipalities to address critical local infrastructure needs, including $6.5 million that will be directed toward Indigenous and on-reserve education, through the Ministry of Infrastructure in collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Indigenous Affairs.
- Up to $100 million for long-term care projects to be identified and administered by the Ministry of Long-Term Care.
“Ontario has worked hard to make sure that communities, schools, and the health care sector are able to get shovel-ready projects underway sooner for they can kickstart their local economies,” said Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott at today’s press conference at Queen’s Park. “We’ll work closely with Minister Clark and his officials to flow the municipal dollars to each and every one of the 444 municipalities as fast as we can.”
Minister Scott shared that this stream will be open the week of Nov. 16. All municipalities will be contacted between now and then for more information about the stream and application process.
Eligible projects under this stream include:
- Community, recreation, health and education renovations (e.g. retrofits, repairs or upgrades to long-term care homes, publicly funded schools and co-located childcare centre facilities, recreation centres or shelters)
- COVID-19 response infrastructure (e.g. heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, new builds or renovations to enable physical distancing)
- Active transportation (e.g. parks, trails)
- Disaster mitigation, adaptation, or remediation (e.g. flood mitigation).
Eligible projects must start by Sept. 20, 2021 and be completed by Dec. 31, 2021. Additional information on this stream will become available in upcoming weeks.
“Here in Ontario, we’re going to continue to make strategic investments in infrastructure in every corner of this province. Today, we’re taking the first of many steps to lay a strong foundation for our future. By working together, our recovery will be fueled by growth and driven by the Ontario spirit,” said Ford.
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