Municipalities across Ontario, including Seguin Township and the Municipality of McDougall, are advocating for the continuance of increased Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) support.
The province doubled the fund, from $200 million to $400 million for a period of five years. According to officials, that period ends this year.
The funding, provided annually to 423 small, rural and northern communities across the province, helps renew and rehabilitate critical infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems.
“Municipalities outside of high-growth regions have expressed concern about the diminishing level of grant funding opportunities for municipalities trying to preserve the economic value of their existing infrastructure,” states a letter from the Municipal Finance Officers’ Association of Ontario to various of provincial officials and ministers, including Todd McCarthy, the acting minister of infrastructure.
“To maximize the economic potential of federal and provincial investment in infrastructure, all orders of government must work together to preserve service levels and the public value of existing infrastructure, and permanently doubling OCIF to $400 million/year will especially help small and rural municipalities preserve that economic foundation throughout Ontario.”
This year more than $12.7 million was provided to the municipalities of Parry Sound-Muskoka, including more than $1 million to Parry Sound, and $356,000 to Seguin, $192,290 to McDougall, $151,250 to McKellar, $138,360 to the Township of the Archipelago, $136,879 to Whitestone and $125,000 to Carling.
Officials are re-iterating the importance of the infrastructure funding, and urging the province not to decrease it moving forward.
