Canada and Ontario jointly announced funding for public transit projects across Ontario under the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF), including newly approved projects that will benefit Timmins Transit.
"The Government of Canada recognizes how important affordable and efficient transit infrastructure is to growing the middle class and getting kids to school, employees to work, and seniors to the services they need on time and back home quickly at the end of a long day,” said Patty Hajdu, federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.
The announcement was made in Thunder Bay, yesterday, by Minister Hajdu who is also the MP for Thunder Bay-Superior riding, on behalf of the federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities and the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and Ontario’s Ministry of Infrastructure.
“We are very pleased to announce new public transit projects across Ontario which will help make municipalities stronger, more inclusive and sustainable, while ensuring that Canadian communities remain among the best places in the world to live, work and raise a family," she added.
The PTIF is designed to address key infrastructure priorities with a focus on repairing and upgrading existing facilities and assets.
Timmins will receive $1,412,000 for 13 public transit projects including vehicle acquisitions, repairs and upgrades to the transit terminal and transit garage, transit shelters, and vehicle location systems.
A total of $540,000 of the funding will contribute to the acquisition of two forty feet NOVA LFS buses that can be adapted for local needs and are highly accessible for all passengers.
Funding for $115,000 was providing to enable Timmins Transit to purchase two “specialized vehicles.”
Another $80,000 will be spent on refurbishing two other buses.
Meanwhile $172, 550 in funding will be used to upgrade Timmins Transit’s automated vehicle location system that track buses while in transit to improve bus information for passengers.
Timmins Transit will also receive $150,000 towards the construction of a new body shop at its garage and maintenance yards.
Funding under PTIF will also include some smaller ticket items such as $5,000 for the placement of reflective bus stops and $15,000 on bus shelters.
Under the PTIF program the federal government provides Ontario with $1.49 billion under and will fund up to 50 per cent of the eligible project costs.
Eight municipalities have now been approved for federal funding amounting to more than $8.46 million. The provincial government and municipalities will provide the balance of funding.
In addition to Timmins, the seven other municipalities to receive funding are eight municipalities are Thunder Bay ($6 million), Sault Ste. Marie ($299,000), Temiskaming Shores ($258,000), Greenstone ($45,000), Hanover ($98,200), Midland ($131,00) and Wasaga Beach ($184,000).
According to Minister Hajdu, this is the first of other future infrastructure funding for municipalities that have submitted applications under the federal and also provincial programs.
The investments are part of a bilateral agreement between Canada and Ontario announced on August 23, 2016, and is in addition to the 168 projects announced that day for public transit projects. As of today, 215 public transit projects have been approved across Ontario under PTIF.
"This partnership between Ontario, our municipalities, and the federal government builds on our government's historic infrastructure investments we are already making as part of our economic plan for jobs and growth,” Minister Hajdu said. “The projects supported through this new agreement will improve the transit experience for riders and help them support our low-carbon economy for decades to come."
The federal government contribution to PTIF is part of the first phase of Investing in Canada, Ottawa’s plan to support public infrastructure across the country.
Under the Investing in Canada plan, the Government of Canada will provide more than $180 billion in infrastructure funding over 12 years for public transit, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, transportation that supports trade, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
Ontario’s infrastructure program is called BuildON and is contributing to what it terms the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province's history.
For list of funding under the PTIF click here.
