Township of Manitouwadge Residents Benefit from Local Sewage System Improvements

For immediate release – April 25, 2005

Governments partner to make infrastructure investment

MANITOUWADGE — The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the Township of Manitouwadge today announced funding to upgrade the municipal sewage system.

The governments of Canada and Ontario will each invest up to $2,801,470 in the project. The Township of Manitouwadge will contribute the balance of the total eligible project cost of up to $8,404,410. 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 an upgraded sewage system and improved quality of life for local residents. The Township of Manitouwadge will divert sewage flows through a reactivated forcemain and will repair a 245-metre section of active forcemain.

"This project will help protect the long-term health and safety of area residents," said Brent St. Denis, MP for Algoma–Manitoulin–Kapuskasing. "We are pleased to support the Township of Manitouwadge in its goal of repairing 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, Mr. St. Denis added.

"Our government is committed to improving essential infrastructure in our northern and rural communities," said Mike Brown, MPP for Algoma–Manitoulin. "Upgrades to the Manitouwadge sewage system are an example of our government's commitment to building strong communities and just one of the ways we are helping to improve the quality of life in northern Ontario."

"We are eager to proceed with these vital improvements to our sewage system, and we thank the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario for contributing to this important project," said Darrel Chisholm, Mayor of the Township of Manitouwadge.

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:

Darrel Chisholm
Mayor of the Township of Manitouwadge
807-826-3227

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

Sam Boonstra
Industry Canada
416-952-0468

Project Reference Number: 11893