The Government of Canada is taking decisive action to support communities and stabilize the economy across Canada, while first and foremost ensuring that the health and safety of all Canadians are protected during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna announced that Nunavut has received $16.5 million through the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) for the 2020-21 fiscal year to fund its most pressing infrastructure needs.
The GTF provides communities with stable and flexible funding for their infrastructure priorities across a wide range of categories. Recent projects that have benefited from the GTF in Nunavut include a new wastewater treatment facility in Kimmirut that will provide improved treatment for the municipal wastewater. Residents of Pond Inlet will benefit from upgrades to the drinking water system, ensuring a regular supply of safe drinking water, and the community of Arviat will be more eco-friendly, thanks to a new landfill site for large metal scraps, saving space in other landfills and reducing the environmental impact of producing new materials.
By enabling communities to plan for their current and future needs, and to build or improve the infrastructure that will help them thrive through any circumstance, the GTF is a critical tool that will help ensure Nunavut remains among the best places in the world to live for generations to come.
The Government of Canada will be announcing new measures in the coming weeks and months to help Canadian communities get back on their feet and make them even more resilient in the future.
Quotes
"Our Government is making immediate investments in infrastructure that will play a vital role in helping communities revive their economies, and will improve the lives of Canadians, especially in Nunavut. As a first step, we are accelerating this year's payment through the federal Gas Tax Fund. This will put $16.5 million in the hands of communities in Nunavut, to improve local infrastructure like drinking water systems and green projects that protect the local environment-and we will get Northerners back to work."
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
"We appreciate the decision by the Government of Canada to expedite the release of Gas Tax Funding as a way of supporting municipalities in Nunavut and addressing the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. This is a good example of collaborative action/collaboration between our governments as that will help Nunavummiut to return to normality with increased confidence."
Lorne Kusugak, Minister of Community and Government Services Territorial Representative
Quick facts
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The federal Gas Tax Fund is a long-term indexed source of funding for over 3,600 communities across the country. In recent years it has supported thousands of projects annually.
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The federal Gas Tax Fund has 18 project eligibility categories, including capacity building, sport infrastructure and roads. Communities can use the funds immediately for priority projects, bank them for later use, pool the dollars with other communities for shared infrastructure projects, or use them to finance major infrastructure expenditures.
