Released on November 29, 2013
Gas Tax Fund Investment Supports Local Water Infrastructure
Souris-Moose Mountain MP Ed Komarnicki, on behalf of Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, along with Estevan MLA Doreen Eagles on behalf of Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter, joined City of Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig to officially open a new $8.9 million north water reservoir built to help address growth in the community.
“Our government is proud to invest in major infrastructure projects like the north reservoir through the Gas Tax Fund transfer, with a focus on creating jobs, promoting growth, and building strong, prosperous communities here in Estevan, in Saskatchewan and across Canada,” said Komarnicki. “With this important project completed, the city will be in a better position to meet the water needs of its rapidly growing population.”
“With Saskatchewan’s population surpassing the 1.1 million mark for the first time ever, we are experiencing unprecedented growth,” Eagles said. “With the federal, provincial and municipal governments all working together, priority infrastructure investments can be made in our great province to build a better quality of life, as we continue moving forward with the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth.”
The estimated $8.9 million north water reservoir project was funded with more than $1.5 million from the Government of Canada’s Gas Tax Fund, while the remaining $7.4 million came from City of Estevan financing. An estimated $1.3 million of interest on the city’s financing will be funded by the province’s Saskatchewan Infrastructure Growth Initiative program.
“On behalf of City Council I would like to take this opportunity to thank our federal and provincial counterparts for their financial help in making our new water reservoir a reality,” Ludwig said. “It is partnerships like this that are needed to maintain and promote growth as our city moves forward.”
The reservoir project, which began construction in September 2011 and has been operational since the end of October 2013, involved building a new six-million-litre reservoir and other related infrastructure to improve Estevan’s water pressure. The city has grown rapidly, especially with the development of a new north-end subdivision.
The province’s Saskatchewan Infrastructure Growth Initiative program, administered by the Ministry of Government Relations, provides municipalities with interest rate subsidies for up to five years of municipal borrowing for infrastructure to help meet the challenges associated with growth in a community and surrounding area.
The federal Gas Tax Fund transfer provides long-term funding to municipalities across the country to build and revitalize their local infrastructure. The Government of Canada has now made the Gas Tax Fund a permanent source of funding. The fund will grow from its current $2 billion per year to reflect indexing established in Economic Action Plan 2013, which also provided increased flexibility on how the money can be used to address local infrastructure priorities. The Government of Canada provides $56.1 million in annual funding for municipal infrastructure in Saskatchewan. To date, Estevan has received $3,746,238 from the federal Gas Tax Fund.
To read more about the Gas Tax Fund in Saskatchewan, please visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca.
For additional information about federal investments in infrastructure, visit www.infrastructure.gc.ca or follow us on Twitter at @INFC_eng.
For further information about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Marie-Josée Paquette
Office of the Minister of Infrastructure
Phone: 613-943-1838
Dan Palmer
Government Relations
Phone: 306-787-2155
Mayor Roy Ludwig
City of Estevan
Phone: 306-634-1802
Infrastructure Canada
Phone: 613-960-9251