P.E.I. infrastructure funding to get $15.9M injection from federal budget

Infrastructure projects on Prince Edward Island will see $15.9 million in new money over five years according to the federal budget that was announced Tuesday.

That's additional money over and above what was set aside by the previous government under the New Building Canada Plan. 

Across the country, $30 million over two years for federally administered social housing providers for affordable housing has been outlined in the budget. These providers exist in five provinces including P.E.I.

There are at least eight of the providers on the Island including The Charlottetown Housing Authority. Across the country there's $1.4 billion for affordable housing. 

"Social housing is a serious issue here in Charlottetown and across the province," said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee.

P.E.I. is getting $660,000 for public transit over three years. That's part of $3.4 billion being invested for public transit in Canada over three years, starting in 2016-17. Funding will be provided through a new Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.

The federal government will fund up to 50 per cent, but that's contingent on the province and municipalities putting in the other half. The federal government says the investments will help to shorten commute times and cut air pollution.

"The $660,000 for transit is a good start," said Lee. 

In October last year, T3 Transit said over the next two years about $2 million was needed to upgrade the fleet, but those improvements would last for another five to seven years. 

T3 has said that a new bus costs about $630,000. 

"But I do think as well that there might be an opportunity to buy smaller vehicles," said Lee. 

The funding structure has changed as well. Previous governments funded infrastructure projects via a system where municipalities, provinces and the federal government each covered a third of the costs of any given project.

"What we were hearing from cash-strapped provinces was that they couldn't afford their one-third," said Charlottetown MP Sean Casey.

Tuesday's budget revealed the federal government is prepared to cover up to half the cost of approved projects. Ottawa will speed up deployment of about $9 billion that was left over from a previous infrastructure fund.

Shovel ready projects

There's a surge of almost $12 billion in the next five years for so-called "shovel ready" projects.

Projects that are ready to go in Charlottetown include the Miltonvale water supply, the final phase of the Spring Park combined sewer separation project, updating the transit fleet, and a roundabout at Belvedere Avenue and St. Peters Road, where the engineering work is already underway.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is budgeted to get about $16 million over two years.

The funding is for renovating or expanding arts or cultural infrastructure and to also commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary. People, arts groups and municipalities can start applying right away, said Casey.

"There's major issues with our Confederation Centre of the Arts. That would be a great opportunity to address some of their deficiencies ... There is a big void here I guess you'd call it in Charlottetown that that type of money could certainly help in filling," said Lee. 

The Town of Stratford is also hopeful it will get some of the $5 billion being invested over five years in water, wastewater and green infrastructure across the country. The town has a major sewer replacement project in the work plan for the next few years.

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