City of Greater Sudbury Residents Benefit from Local Road and Bridge Improvements

For immediate release — April 25, 2005

Governments partner to make infrastructure investment

SUDBURY — The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the City of Greater Sudbury today announced funding to improve local road and bridge infrastructure.

The governments of Canada and Ontario will each invest up to $6,933,333 in the project. The City of Greater Sudbury will contribute the balance of the total eligible project cost of up to $20,800,000. The Government of Canada's contribution is contingent on the successful completion of an environmental assessment of the proposed project under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

This investment, made under the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF), will provide safer road infrastructure and improved quality of life for local residents. The City of Greater Sudbury will reconstruct and widen sections of the following major arterial roads: the Kingsway, municipal roads #15 and 80, and Falconbridge Road. Municipal Road 90 crossing at Conniston Creek, the Elgin Street Box Culvert at Junction Creek and College Street Culvert at Nolin Creek will also be rehabilitated.

"Upgrading vital infrastructure enables communities to better plan for and manage economic development," said Diane Marleau, MP for Sudbury. "This important investment embodies the COMRIF priority of helping communities improve local infrastructure." The Government of Canada's funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework, added Mrs. Marleau.

"Our government is committed to improving essential infrastructure in our northern communities," said Rick Bartolucci, MPP for Sudbury. "We know that northern Ontario's success depends on building strong communities through a strong economy and a healthy environment. We are proud to participate in a project that will provide a quality of life that is second to none for the people of Sudbury."

"Improved infrastructure is essential for our rural communities to grow," said Ray Bonin, MP for Nickel Belt. "This roads and bridges renewal investment of over $6.9 million in Sudbury will be pivotal in providing new opportunities in northern Ontario."

"Safe, reliable infrastructure is essential to the quality of life in every community," said David Ramsay, MPP for Timiskaming–Cochrane. "Investing in projects like this, we are helping rural communities meet their highest priority infrastructure needs. The Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund is part of our plan to restore communities."

"The City of Greater Sudbury Council and residents have identified infrastructure renewal as one of our community's top priorities. Initiatives such as COMRIF are helping us meet this priority," said David Courtemanche, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury.

Under COMRIF, the governments of Canada and Ontario are working together with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and local partners to improve public infrastructure in small urban and rural communities. The objectives of this initiative are to enhance and renew Ontario's aging public infrastructure, improve the quality of the environment, protect the health and safety of citizens, support long-term economic growth and build strong, sustainable communities by giving municipalities the tools they need.

COMRIF is a five-year, $900-million program that focuses on local needs through infrastructure improvements to provide clean, safe drinking water, better sewage systems, improved waste management processes, safer local roads and bridges as well as other health and safety priorities. Green infrastructure is COMRIF's top priority with 55 per cent of funding for projects involving water quality, sustainable communities, climate change, and innovation.

COMRIF Intake Two will be launched in the coming weeks through a public announcement and direct contact with eligible municipalities. All Ontario municipalities of less than 250,000 people are eligible to apply to COMRIF to improve their local infrastructure.

For further information on the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, please visit www.comrif.ca.

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Contacts:

David Courtemanche
Mayor of the City of Sudbury
705-671-2489

Andrea Kelly
Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
416-585-7066

Sam Boonstra
Industry Canada
416-952-0468

Project Reference Number: 11517