Question Period Note: RURAL AND NORTHERN COMMUNITIES

How are infrastructure investments helping rural and northern communities?

• The Investing in Canada plan is providing $2.4 billion to support the unique needs of rural and northern communities, including $400 million through the Arctic Energy Fund.

• To date 323 projects, such as broadband internet connectivity, roads, and facilities to improve food and energy security, have been approved under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream, representing a federal investment of $942 million.

• Investing in rural infrastructure supports local economies, which in turn creates job opportunities, improves household incomes, and enhances quality of life.

• The Investing in Canada Plan (the Plan) is the federal government’s long-term infrastructure plan that was announced in Budget 2016 and further elaborated in the 2016 Fall Economic Statement, Budget 2017; and more recently Budget 2019. The Plan provides a single, consolidated strategic framework to guide the delivery of more than $180 billion in federal investments in infrastructure over 12 years.

• The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is the centrepiece of Infrastructure Canada’s (INFC) funding initiatives supporting the broader Investing in Canada Plan. Managed through Integrated Bilateral Agreements with provinces and territories, this 10-year allocation-based program promotes strong collaboration between all levels of government by advancing outcomes in a manner that is flexible and responsive to unique local, provincial and territorial circumstances.

• Under the program, INFC has signed Integrated Bilateral Agreements with all provincial and territorial governments to deliver $33.5 billion of stable, predictable funding under four streams:

  ◦ Public Transit stream will provide up to $20.1 billion primarily to build new urban transit networks and service extensions that will transform the way that Canadians live, move and work.

  ◦ Green infrastructure stream will provide $9.2 billion to support greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions; enable greater adaptation and resilience to the impacts of climate change and climate-related disaster mitigation, and ensure that more communities can provide clean air and safe drinking water for their citizens.

  ◦ Community, Culture and Recreation Infrastructure stream will provide $1.3 billion towards community, culture and recreation infrastructure to build stronger communities and improve social inclusion.

  ◦ Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream will provide $2.4 billion to support projects that improve the quality of life in rural and northern communities by responding to rural and northern specific needs. The stream includes the $400 million Arctic Energy Fund that will address energy security in the territories.

• ICIP uses an outcomes-based approach to eligibility. As a result, provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous recipients are provided with greater flexibility to submit infrastructure projects that meet their needs, while also contributing to federal objectives. Collecting information on project outcomes and results will enable INFC to more clearly and consistently report on the benefits to Canadians.

• Under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream, eligible projects will be restricted to those situated within, and that are for the direct benefit of rural and northern communities. Eligible projects must also align to one of the following immediate outcomes:

  ◦ Improved food security (e.g. infrastructure to secure food supply chain to provide new opportunities to grow food locally and to store it locally in reliable facilities, etc.).

  ◦ Improved and/or more reliable road, air and/or marine infrastructure.

  ◦ Improved broadband connectivity.

  ◦ More efficient and/or reliable energy.

  ◦ Improved education and/or health facilities (specific to Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action).

• To better facilitate investments in rural and northern communities, federal cost-sharing for municipalities under the Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure stream has increased to up to 50% of total eligible costs. For communities with a population under 5,000, the federal cost-sharing has increased to up to 60% of total eligible costs.

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