Ottawa, Ontario, June 8, 2010 – The Honourable John Baird, Canada’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister and Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean, along with Members of Parliament representing Ottawa, including the Honourable Gordon O’Connor, Pierre Poilievre, and Royal Galipeau, today announced that the Government of Canada will set aside up to $600 million for the City of Ottawa’s Transit Plan.
“This historic investment in Ottawa’s public transit infrastructure demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to building sustainable and healthy communities,” said Minister Baird. “With this funding, I expect that the City will work towards a practical and affordable plan to serve the needs of the residents of Ottawa.”
In addition to this funding, the Government of Canada provides the City of Ottawa with approximately $50 million per year from the federal Gas Tax Fund, which the City has chosen to dedicate to public transit improvements.
“A strong transit system for the National Capital Region is vital,” said Royal Galipeau, M.P. “In a growing urban environment, it’s important that people are able to rely on public transit to get them where they need to go – on time and safely.”
This investment in Ottawa transit will help the City of Ottawa achieve its goal to increase public transit use to 30 per cent by 2031. It will create local jobs, reduce traffic congestion, help protect our environment, and improve the quality of life for Ottawa residents.
In this period of global economic uncertainty, the Government of Canada is focused on stimulating our economy, creating jobs, and helping Canadians have a more prosperous future by moving forward with a number of large-scale infrastructure programs to assist Ontarians when they need it most. Canada’s Economic Action Plan is accelerating and expanding the existing Building Canada infrastructure plan of $33 billion with almost $12 billion in new infrastructure stimulus funding.
Contacts:
James Kusie
Director of Issues Management
Office of Canada’s Transport Minister
613-991-0700
The Government of Canada’s funding for transit improvements in Ottawa is conditional on both the City of Ottawa and Province of Ontario committing $600 million each towards the initiative, and further on the approval by Ottawa City Council of a final business case defining a specific project that fits within the funding envelopes announced by the Government of Canada.
Federal funding is also conditional on the signing of a project-specific contribution agreement. The source of funds for up to $400 million of the federal investment being announced today is the Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund. The source of funds for the remaining $200 million will be the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund.
