The NWT can apply for more than $570 million over the next 10 years for community infrastructure projects, thanks to an agreement with the federal government finalized Wednesday.
Wally Schumann, the minister of Infrastructure, Tourism and Investment, left, and Amarjeet Sohi, the federal minister of Infrastructure and Communities, signed a bilateral agreement Wednesday that will allow the GNWT access to more than $570 million as part of the federal government's Investing in Canada infrastructure plan.
March 7, 2018
The bilateral deal was signed in Yellowknife by federal infrastructure minister Amarjeet Sohi and his territorial counterpart, Wally Schumann.
Under the agreement, Ottawa will fund 75 per cent of any approved project, and the GNWT, a community government, the non-profit sector, or some combination, will put up the remaining 25 per cent.
The money comes out of the Liberal government's Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, and can be used for water and waste treatment plants, public transit, renewable energy projects, broadband connectivity and cultural, health and education facilities that benefit Indigenous peoples, among other community infrastructure needs.
SA国际影视传媒淲e are ready to support projects as of today,SA国际影视传媒� Sohi told the crowd gathered in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly. SA国际影视传媒淭here will not be any delays whatsoever.SA国际影视传媒�
Though the money is available now, it will likely be at least a year before any new projects funded through Wednesday's agreement break ground.
Caroline Cochrane, minister of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), said it will take some time to identify areas of need in the communities and draw up applications for funding.
A majority of the projects will begin rolling out in or after the second year of the agreement, she said.
Schumann said the GNWT is still working on energy and climate change adaptation strategies that will inform how these federal infrastructure dollars are is used.
With the GNWT's matching contributions, government officials said the territory could see as much as $761 million invested in community infrastructure over the next decade.
Schumann said the federal funding will allow for projects that provide job training, bring down the cost of living, reduce the territory's greenhouse gas emissions and provide better access to natural resources.
The bilateral agreement will also aid the government in developing infrastructure that will hold up against climate change.
Sohi said projects will be assessed using a SA国际影视传媒渃limate lensSA国际影视传媒� to ensure that minimizing greenhouse gas emissions is top of mind from the construction phase onward.
The bilateral agreement comes with a base amount of money, because a per-person funding model on its own doesn't work well in the North, said Sohi.
Cochrane said she appreciates that this agreement doesn't rely on a per-capita approach to funding.
SA国际影视传媒淭he Northwest Territories only has 44,000 people, but we have 33 communities,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
SA国际影视传媒淲e need 33 waste water systems. We need 33 structures for all community schools, recreation centres, all of the necessities.SA国际影视传媒�
Cochrane said the agreement will help community governments fund their own infrastructure projects and become more energy efficient.
MACA will collaborate with the Northwest Territories Association of Communities to develop SA国际影视传媒渇air and transparent processSA国际影视传媒� for divvying up funding under this agreement, she said.
Herbert Nakimayak, the MLA for Nunakput, was pleased by Wednesday's announcement.
Nakimayak said he hopes to see SA国际影视传媒渕ore community involvement so the regions can get what they need specifically, so that their getting it from the grassroots and not the federal perspective.SA国际影视传媒�
The NWT is the first jurisdiction to sign an agreement with Ottawa under the12-year, $180-billion Investing in Canada plan.
Neither the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway, nor the Slave Geological Province Access Corridor, an all-season road that would extend from Highway 4 to the Nunavut boarder and improve access to Ekati and Diavik diamond mines, is eligible funding through Wednesday's agreement.
If approved, said Schumann, money for these roads would come out of the National Trade Corridors Fund.
The $570 million for NWT infrastructure was first announced in the 2017 federal budget, said GNWT officials, but specific terms and conditions had to be hammered out before the territory could take advantage of the funds.
