Yorkton – Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, is pleased to announce that the New Building Canada Plan has begun accepting applications as of March 28, 2014, underscoring the Government of Canada’s long-term commitment to economic growth, job creation and long-term prosperity through quality infrastructure.

Since 2006, the Government of Canada has continually increased financial support to communities across Canada for infrastructure.  The New Building Canada Plan, a continuation of the Building Canada Fund which ran from 2007-2014, will see the Government of Canada invest over $53 billion in infrastructure across the country over the next 10 years from 2014-2024.  For Saskatchewan, this represents more than $1 billion in dedicated federal funding, including almost $437 million under the New Building Canada Fund and an estimated $613 million under the federal Gas Tax Fund.

“Under Building Canada, many communities throughout our area were able to receive funding for infrastructure projects such as road upgrading (RM of Insinger), water treatment plant expansion (Yorkton), and sewage lagoon expansion (Kamsack), to name a few,” said Breitkreuz.  “The New Building Canada Plan provides an opportunity for many more to enhance infrastructure in their own communities.”

There are two major components under the New Building Canada Plan:

1. The $4-billion National Infrastructure Component (NIC) which provides funding for projects of national significance; and
2. The $10-billion Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) which supports infrastructure projects of national, regional and local significance. The PTIC is divided into two sub-components:

• $9 billion for National and Regional projects (PTIC—NRP); and
• $1 billion for projects located in communities of fewer than 100,000 residents through the Small Communities Fund (PTIC—SCF).

“The Small Communities Fund will be of particular interest for communities throughout Yorkton-Melville,” said Breitkreuz.  “Our towns and villages will have a fair opportunity to apply for funding for projects without having to compete against cities like Regina or Saskatoon.” 

Eligible projects under the PTIC—SCF include:

• Drinking water
• Wastewater
• Solid waste management
• Disaster mitigation infrastructure
• Local and regional airports
• Short-line rail
• Highways and major roads

For a complete list of eligible projects and information on how to apply for funding under the New Building Canada plan, please visit: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/plan-eng.html.

-30-