The Municipality of Grand Manan to Receive Gas-Tax Payment for Green Infrastructure

The Honourable Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Rick Doucet, Minister of Fisheries, on behalf of the Honourable Carmel Robichaud, Minister of Local Government, made the announcement today.

The Village of Grand Manan will receive a first payment of a total of $211,303 from the Gas Tax Fund (GTF), to which the Government of New Brunswick will add $54,620 for a total of $265,923.

These funds will be used by the municipality for environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects in the community-energy and wastewater systems.

"The funding announced today for the Village of Grand Manan is a concrete example of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and our government's commitment to support a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and more prosperous communities in New Brunswick," said Minister Thompson. "The Gas Tax Fund is helping to make a real and lasting difference for our communities in New Brunswick and across Canada."

"Today's announcement will allow the Village of Grand Manan to address community infrastructure needs," said Minister Doucet. "It is important for our government to continue improving and maintaining local infrastructure by partnering with the federal government and communities for the benefit of all New Brunswickers, including residents of Grand Manan. This will help us to attain self-sufficiency as a province by 2026."

"The municipality of Grand Manan is very pleased to receive its first payment under the Gas Tax Fund," said Dennis Greene, Mayor of Grand Manan. "This funding will allow us to improve our wastewater facility, and proceed with the installation of a high energy efficient heating and cooling system at the multipurpose complex."

New Brunswick municipalities will receive $116.1 million from the GTF from 2005 to 2010, to which the Government of New Brunswick will add $30 million. A further $178.5 million in federal GTF investments will flow to the Province of New Brunswick from 2010 to 2014, for a total of $294.6 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects over nine years.

To receive its first payment under the GTF, the Village of Grand Manan submitted a five-year Capital Investment Plan for review by the province, and signed an agreement with the New Brunswick Department of Local Government to implement the plan.

Investment collaboration with provinces and municipalities is a key feature of the federal approach to infrastructure.

The GTF is a key component of the Government's $33-billion Building Canada Plan. In Budget 2008, the Government of Canada announced that the Gas Tax Fund will become permanent from 2014, at $2 billion per year for provinces and territories. This will facilitate long-term infrastructure planning by municipalities.

In December 2007, the governments of Canada and New Brunswick announced the signing of the Building Canada Framework Agreement. With this agreement, the Government of Canada committed to invest more than $541 million towards infrastructure needs in New Brunswick from 2007 to 2014. This includes the 2010 to 2014 Gas Tax money.

FOR BROADCAST USE:

The governments of Canada and New Brunswick have announced that the Village of Grand Manan will undertake essential improvements to local infrastructure after receiving its first payment, of a total of $265,923, under the Canada-New Brunswick Agreement on the Transfer of Federal Gas Tax Revenues and the Provincial Gas Tax Transfer Top-up Fund. This New Brunswick municipality will use these funds on environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects in the community-energy system and wastewater categories.

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