Gas Tax Fund and Municipal Sustainability Iinitiative help bring greener, better waste management facilities to area
County of Minbrun, Alberta, July 20, 2013 – The villages of Innisfree, Minburn and Mannville, and the County of Minburn celebrated the official opening of the new East Regional Waste Transfer Station today. This station is the result of a partnership between the villages and the County.
"Our government's top priority is jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,"
said Leon Benoit, the Member of Parliament for Vegreville—Wainwright, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. "We are proud to support environmentally sustainable infrastructure that creates local jobs and enables our communities to continue to grow and prosper. This new facility will play an essential role in helping the County manage its long-term waste management."
"Our Alberta government is committed to building communities by helping develop critical infrastructure through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative,"
said Doug Griffiths, Minister of Municipal Affairs. "Our province is made even stronger by regional collaboration, and we're pleased to support projects such as this waste transfer station, which is a great example of how communities can work together to meet local priorities and the needs of their residents."
"We are grateful that Federal Gas Tax Fund and Municipal Sustainability Initiative dollars were made available for financial support to construct the new Waste Transfer Station,"
said County of Minburn Reeve, Eric Anderson. "This commitment by the Province and Federal Government helped address the long-term regional waste management needs for the residents of the County and Villages."
The new waste transfer station provides countless benefits to the County of Minburn and the three villages. It reduces the amount of waste going into landfills, helps preserve and protect the environment, and helps secure a road map for future waste management decision-making in times of rapid growth and development. The new station provides residents with forty waste disposal bins for their bagged household waste; two waste disposal bins for larger items such as furniture and mattresses; a burn pit; a pesticide container disposal area; and a disposal area for appliances, tires and metals. These features will help the County and villages meet their long-term goals for solid waste management.
Total grant funding received for this project is $1,016,864, with the Government of Canada providing $426,208 from the Gas Tax Fund transfer and the Government of Alberta contributing $590,656 from its Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI).
The Federal Gas Tax Fund transfer provides long-term funding to municipalities across the country to build and revitalize their local infrastructure. The Government of Canada has invested over $10 billion to date in municipal infrastructure through this program, and passed legislation to make it a permanent transfer of $2 billion per year. In Alberta, the program currently provides over $199.5 million of predictable, long-term funding annually to help municipalities build and revitalize public infrastructure. As part of Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government committed to index the Gas Tax Fund to provide additional funding for communities, starting in 2014.
Since 2007, Alberta's Municipal Sustainability Initiative has provided approximately $4.4 billion to municipalities for more than 7,000 projects identified by municipalities as their local priorities. The Government of Alberta is committed to providing $11.3 billion over the term of the program to municipalities to enhance community sustainability, address local infrastructure needs and enable them to meet the demands of growth.
Canada's Economic Action Plan 2013 is delivering a New Building Canada Plan to build roads, bridges, subways, commuter rail, and other public infrastructure in cooperation with provinces, territories, and municipalities. Thanks to the Government of Canada's leadership and our strong economic and financial fundamentals, the Canadian economy has recovered from the global recession better than most other industrialized countries. Canada has been a leader among G-7 countries throughout the recovery with more than 1 million net new jobs created since July 2009. The New Building Canada Plan, combined with other federal infrastructure investments, supports Canada's infrastructure advantage, a key enabler of economic growth and job creation.
For additional information about federal investments in infrastructure and to stay up-to-date with Web feeds, visit Infrastructure Canada.
Infrastructure Canada (Disponible en français)
613-960-9251 or toll-free 1-877-250-7154
Magharita Reghelini-Griffiths
Communications
Alberta Municipal Affairs
780-405-8945
Trudy Shukalak
Administrative Executive
County of Minburn No. 27
780-632-2082
