The federal and provincial governments will support the City of Edmonton in developing a new, energy efficient administration building at Fort Edmonton Park that will improve service delivery and enhance visitor access to Park information and bookings.
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, and Naresh Bhardwaj, MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie, announced the combined federal-provincial investment of $1 million today through the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CAMRIF).
"Thanks to the commitment of the Government of Canada to invest in new infrastructure or to modernize existing ones, communities will remain vibrant and safe while the legacy of treasures like Fort Edmonton Park will be secured for generations to come," said the Honourable Rona Ambrose.
The federal-provincial investment will be directed toward the development and design of the modern, energy efficient building at Fort Edmonton Park. The new building will enable the Park to improve its service delivery and provide visitors with centrally located access to Park information and bookings. The building will provide space for administration staff, meeting rooms, a gift shop and admission gates.
"Visitors will benefit from enhanced services they will receive at the new administration building and this will have a positive impact on their experience overall," said Bhardwaj. "Considering the widespread interest in the environment, informed visitors will appreciate the facility's environmentally-friendly features."
The Fort Edmonton Park Administration Building will be designed to a LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Gold certification. In accordance with this certification the administration building will boast a green roof and energy efficient lighting systems. The building will be the second municipal facility in Edmonton to be built to the Gold LEED standard.
"We are pleased the CAMRIF partnership is adding to Edmonton's $3.6 million funding towards Fort Edmonton's new facility," said City of Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel. "The investments we make today - for a total project cost of about $4.6 million - help ensure Edmontonians have access to our rich heritage, which is so important to our quality of life into the future. The futuristic building allows us to learn from our past, and the cutting-edge environmental standards mean we will keep operating costs as low as possible for years to come."
Under the initial CAMRIF Agreement signed in June 2006, the federal and provincial governments each committed $88 million to the fund, with participating local governments expected to make up the remaining costs. In April 2007, the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta each provided an additional $19 million to the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund as part of their commitment to help smaller communities meet their pressing infrastructure needs. The total amount available from the CAMRIF, with federal and provincial investment and matching local government contribution in projects, is $321 million.
A minimum of 55 per cent of funding under CAMRIF targets green infrastructure projects that contribute to community economic development and environmental quality of life. These include water, wastewater, solid waste, environmental energy improvements and public transit. The fund also invests in recreational infrastructure, tourism, cultural projects, local roads and broadband connectivity. Projects are selected on a competitive basis from applications received from Alberta communities.
For additional information, contact:
Rohit Sandhu
A/Communications Manager
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Edmonton, Alberta
Tel: (780) 495-8570
Cell: (780) 717-3750
Jerry Bellikka
Director of Communications
Alberta Transportation
Edmonton, Alberta
(780) 415-1841
Jason Darrah
Communications Business Partner
City of Edmonton
Tel: (780) 496-4114
Cell: (780) 920-4394
WD Toll-Free Number:1 888 338-WEST (9378)
Website: WD is online at www.wd-deo.gc.ca.
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The following project is receiving funding under the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CAMRIF).
Fort Edmonton Administration Building
Total Project Cost: $4,635,000
Combined federal/provincial investment: $1,000,000
City of Edmonton contribution: $3,635,000
The Fort Edmonton Park revised master plan identifies the need for a new administration building to improve energy performance and indoor climate conditions. The Fort Edmonton Park administration building will be designed and constructed to achieve LEED Gold registration / certification status. The building will provide space for administration staff, meeting rooms, a gift shop and admission gates.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
LEED is a third party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The LEED Green Building Rating SystemT is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations.
The City of Edmonton established a policy in 2007 to construct new buildings at LEED standards. Current projects include:
Registered Projects
- Animal Services - design stage
- Argyll Velodrome & Sports Centre - design stage
- Fire Stations #5 and # 11 - design stage
- Ft. Edmonton Administration - design stage
- Lois Hole Library - under construction - completed fall 2007
- St FX Field House - design stage
- Southwest Community Recreation Centre - early construction
- Southwest Transit Garage - early construction
Certified Projects
Partnership Program
- The Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CAMRIF) was designed to address local infrastructure needs in rural and urban Alberta. It ensures all Albertans, whether they live in large, small or remote communities, share in the benefits of infrastructure investments.
- Through the fund, the Governments of Canada and Alberta invested in local infrastructure projects. These projects are vital to sustaining strong economic growth and quality of life in Canadian communities.
- Under the initial CAMRIF Agreement signed in June 2006, the federal and provincial governments each committed $88 million to the fund, with participating local governments expected to make up the remaining costs.
- This year, the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta have each provided an additional $19 million to the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund as part of their commitment to help smaller communities meet their pressing infrastructure needs.
- The total amount available from the CAMRIF, with federal and provincial investment and matching local government contribution in projects, was $321 million.
- CAMRIF was implemented by Western Economic Diversification Canada and Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation, and is administered by a joint secretariat.
Program Priorities
- A minimum of 55 per cent of funding under CAMRIF targeted green infrastructure projects that contribute to community economic development and environmental quality of life. These included water, wastewater, solid waste, environmental energy improvements and public transit. The fund also invested in recreational infrastructure, tourism and cultural projects, local roads and broadband connectivity.
- At least 80 per cent of CAMRIF funding was dedicated to rural municipalities with a population of less than 250,000. The remaining 20 per cent was available to urban municipalities with a population greater than 250,000.A total of $724,584 was also available to municipalities for Municipal Capacity Building (MCB) projects. Projects included, but were not limited to, the acquisition of infrastructure planning software, training to use that software, planning studies to determine the inventory and condition of infrastructure assets in the municipality or the development of a demand asset management system.
Local input and collaboration
- CAMRIF is managed by a six member Management Committee consisting of two federal representatives, two provincial representatives, and two members representing Alberta's municipal associations-the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties. The Management Committee developed the Management Committee guidelines and oversees the project review and selection process. Projects were selected on a competitive basis from applications received from Alberta communities. The deadline to submit applications for the second intake was May 31, 2007.
Environmental Assessment
- CAMRIF projects are required to successfully complete applicable environmental assessment processes, and funding is conditional on compliance with all applicable federal and provincial requirements.
For more information
- Contact the Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund Joint Secretariat by phone (toll free) at 1-800-396-0214, by e-mail at camrif@gov.ab.ca or visit the website http://www.camrif.ca/.
