December 9, 2020
Today, Council approved 11 short-term projects the City of Mississauga will submit for consideration under the new COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream of the Government of Canada’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan (ICIP). In order to respond to the impacts of COVID-19, this new, temporary funding stream was created to provide greater flexibility to fund quick-start, short-term projects that might not otherwise be eligible under existing funding streams.
“These types of investments are important in building strong and vibrant communities that help our economy run smoothly,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Cities are the economic engines of this country. Mississauga generates $60 billion in GDP alone, every year. We’re home to more than 450,000 jobs and 94,000 businesses. This COVID-19 Resilience Stream gives us the opportunity to put forward projects on an accelerated timeline.”
The COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream is cost-shared between the Government of Canada (80 per cent) and the Government of Ontario (20 per cent).
The City of Mississauga has been allocated a total $14.8 million. While this is an allocation based program, applications are required and all projects must receive federal approval before proceeding.
Crombie added, “Access to this type of funding also allows us to complete projects without financial impact to the City, as no municipal funding contribution is required – helping us respond to the unprecedented financial impacts we’ve experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve heard from residents about their priorities and we are in a strong position to put forward projects we are confident will be approved by the federal and provincial governments.”
To be eligible, projects must fit into a specific project category and asset type:
- Category 1: Retrofits, Repairs and Upgrades for municipal, provincial, territorial and indigenous buildings, health infrastructure and educational infrastructure
- Category 2: COVID-19 Response Infrastructure, including building or modifying infrastructure to support physical distancing, safety retrofits and expansions
- Category 3: Active Transportation Infrastructure, including parks and, trails, footbridges, bike lanes and multi-use pathways
- Category 4: Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation, including natural infrastructure, flood and fire mitigation, tree planting and related infrastructure
Projects submitted and approved must begin construction no later than September 30, 2021. The projects must be substantially completed by the end of 2021 (end of 2022 in territories and remote communities).
“As a result of our deliberate and detailed business planning and capital budgeting process, we responded quickly to this new funding stream opportunity. We brought forward a list of projects that meet the criteria for Council’s consideration and approval in advance of the January 7, 2021 submission deadline,” said Gary Kent, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. “The next steps are for staff to complete the funding applications for the projects endorsed by Council today prior to the submission deadline.”
The projects put forward by the City, focus on municipal building infrastructure retrofits and lifecycle maintenance; active transportation infrastructure; reforestation and tree planting; and disaster mitigation infrastructure.
Background
ICIP is a ten-year federal infrastructure program designed to create long-term economic growth, build inclusive, sustainable and resilient communities and support a low-carbon economy.
Through ICIP, the federal government is providing $33 billion in federal infrastructure funding to cost-share projects under the following four streams:
- Transit
- Green Infrastructure
- Community, Culture and Recreation
- Rural and Northern Communities (the City is not eligible under this stream)
Previously, the City submitted applications totalling $980.4 million under the Public Transit and Community, Culture and Recreation streams.