Municipalities in Northern Ontario are receiving $19.85 million in provincial-federal government funding toward infrastructure projects through the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream.
At $1,987,031, Greater Sudbury is the recipient of the largest allotment, followed by Thunder Bay, which will receive $1,606,329, and North Bay, which will receive $876,606.
Sault Ste. Marie will receive $429,423, while Timmins will receive $317,820.
Most of the rest of the allotments are around the $100,000 to $200,000 range.
The funding is designated to “help build and repair a wide range of infrastructure projects that respond to the impacts of the pandemic, including retrofits and repairs, COVID-19 response infrastructure, active transportation, and disaster mitigation,” according to a Nov. 9 news release.
Launched in October, the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream is a $1.05-billion joint initiative of the federal and provincial governments.
It's part of the larger Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), a 10-year, $30-billion federal, provincial and municipal program that provides funding to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green; and rural and northern community infrastructure.
Under the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Program, the federal government provides 80 per cent of the cost for eligible projects, while the province provides the remaining 20 per cent.
The Northern Ontario municipalities were eligible under the Local Government Stream.
According to the guidelines of the initiative, all projects must begin construction by Sept. 30, 2021 and be completed by Dec. 31 the same year.
