COUNTY OF ANNAPOLIS, NOVA SCOTIA – JUNE 22, 2012 – The Municipality of the County of Annapolis recently completed upgrades to the Cornwallis Park water distribution system.
“Canada’s Economic Action Plan continues to deliver results across the country and I am delighted that our investments - which created local jobs and economic growth - are strengthening the community here in the County of Annapolis,” said Greg Kerr, Member of Parliament for West Nova, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. “I am pleased that this project will provide the community with a safe and reliable source of clean water for years to come.”
“This investment is helping build strong, healthy communities throughout Nova Scotia,” said John MacDonell, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. “These partnerships with the federal and municipal levels of government allow us to make life better for Nova Scotia families.”
The project involved the design and installation of water mains in the residential portion of the community of Cornwallis Park. The distribution system has been reconfigured to reduce the length of mains in service. Up to 700 meters of pipe has been replaced with approximately 500 meters of new, more efficient pipe that will be easier to access and maintain. This provides approximately 250 households in Cornwallis Park with improved municipal drinking water, improves the reliability of the community’s firefighting system, and reduces the cost of future repairs.
"Municipal council has historically provided services to our residents where both the need and the interest were apparent. This project is another example of how we listened to our residents and provided them with the services they needed,” remarked Warden Reg Ritchie. "Good relations between the Government of Canada, the Government of Nova Scotia and municipalities, like ours, allow for these positive initiatives to happen."
The Government of Canada contributed $54,472 to the project through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, with the Province of Nova Scotia matching this contribution. The Municipality of the County of Annapolis directed $27,236 of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation toward the project and provided the remaining project costs of $27,236. The total project cost for the construction of the Cornwallis Park water main replacements was $163,416.
As part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund supported more than 4,100 projects across the country, including 122 infrastructure projects in Nova Scotia.
The Government of Canada, through the Gas Tax Fund alone, provides $55.9 million in annual funding for municipal infrastructure in Nova Scotia. Between 2010 and 2014, the Municipality of the County of Annapolis will receive close to $3.3 million from the Gas Tax Fund. Canada's Gas Tax Fund provides stable, long-term funding to local governments to help them build and revitalize public infrastructure. In December 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year.
Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2012 focuses on creating new opportunities for jobs and growth, and securing long-term prosperity for Canadians. Investing in public infrastructure is an important part of this strategy. Over the course of the summer, the Government of Canada will be engaging provinces, territories and stakeholders in a series of roundtables to develop a new long-term infrastructure plan. This plan will focus on investments that support job creation and economic growth, while building strong, prosperous communities across the country. In addition, the Government of Canada will hold a roundtable with national stakeholders and representatives of the private sector at the end of the summer. Working together to develop this plan will provide new opportunities for all orders of government and the private sector to build partnerships to improve public infrastructure in Canada. To learn more about the opportunities in Economic Action Plan 2012, visit www.budget.gc.ca/.
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For additional information about Infrastructure Canada’s projects in Nova Scotia, visit infrastructure.gc.ca.
For further information about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit actionplan.gc.ca.
Contacts:
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Susan Mader Zinck
Communications Advisor
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
902-722-1461
E-mail: madersd@gov.ns.ca
Nadine Barteaux
Municipality of the County of Annapolis
902-532-0232 (office)
902-526-2907 (cell)
nbarteaux@annapoliscounty.ca
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll-free 1-877-250-7154
