July 13, 2021
TORONTO — Ontario is protecting people’s health by bringing infrastructure investments to small communities to help them improve the quality of their drinking water.
Starting today, Tuesday, July 13, eligible municipalities, First Nation communities and Local Services Boards can begin applying for funding through the second intake of the Green Infrastructure stream.
The Green Stream is part of the joint federal and provincial Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP). Up to $240 million in joint federal and provincial funding is available for this intake, including $110 million from the Ontario government.
"The people of Ontario need and deserve reliable and safe drinking water," said the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure. "The first intake of the Green Infrastructure Stream was heavily over subscribed. We heard the demand for more investments in drinking water infrastructure in small communities, and we are taking action to support residents living in those communities.”
Across the province, funds will target projects that address critical health and safety needs in communities by making local drinking water infrastructure safer and more reliable.
“Investing in cleaner infrastructure is key to our economic recovery and tackling climate change,” said the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. “Federal funding through the Green Infrastructure Stream will support community projects such as clean energy, energy efficient retrofits, and waste-water upgrades. Canada’s infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates good jobs across the country, and builds cleaner, more inclusive communities.”
The Green Infrastructure Stream follows federal guidelines to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or enable greater adaptation and resilience to the impacts of extreme weather and disaster mitigation. It also helps ensure communities have clean air and safe drinking water for everyone.
Quick Facts
The current application intake for the Green Infrastructure Stream opened on July 13, 2021 to 408 eligible municipalities with populations under 100,000, 127 First Nations and eight Local Services Boards with eligible drinking water infrastructure assets.
Eligible applicants will have up to 8 weeks with a deadline of September 9, 2021 to submit applications for provincial review and nomination to the federal government through the Transfer Payment Ontario website.
The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is a $33-billion, 10-year infrastructure program, cost-shared between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, and other partners.
Under ICIP, Ontario is investing over $10.2 billion to improve public transit; community, culture and recreation; green; rural and northern communities; and other priority infrastructure.
To date, ICIP includes provincial funding of more than $1.06 billion for over 265 local transit projects; $116.5 million for 140 rural and northern projects; more than $40 million for over 70 green infrastructure projects through the first intake; and more than $300 million for over 270 community, culture and recreation projects.
As part of ICIP, Ontario launched the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure stream with combined federal and provincial funding of $1.05 billion. This includes up to $250 million in federal-provincial funding for municipalities to address critical local infrastructure needs to improve health and safety.
Through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), Ontario also provides funding to help 424 small, rural and northern communities build and repair critical local infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and wastewater infrastructure.
Additional Resources