Investing in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure to Strengthen Saskatchewan Communities

REGINA, Saskatchewan, March 26 -- Infrastructure Canada issued the following news release:

Investing in local water and wastewater systems is key to improving people's quality of life, protecting waterways and positioning communities for growth.

Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Warren Kaeding, Minister of Government Relations, announced funding for eight new water and wastewater projects in Saskatchewan.

The funding will support a variety of water and wastewater projects, like upgrading the water treatment plant in Melfort to meet the long-term needs of residents, improving the wastewater treatment and water distribution systems in Martensville to better protect the environment and provide drinking water to more households, and upgrading the North Battleford's sanitary sewer system to improve operations and reduce the risk of flooding.

The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are each contributing up to $27,370,034 for the eight projects through the New Building Canada Fund. Funding recipients are responsible for the remaining costs.

Quotes

"Modern water and wastewater infrastructure is essential to safeguarding the well-being of Canadian families and building the Canada we want for tomorrow. Our government has ramped up new investments in Saskatchewan communities' water and wastewater systems that will help protect the environment, keep people healthy, and bolster economic growth."

The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to be investing more than $27.3 million toward these important water and wastewater infrastructure projects that strengthen our communities for the future, protect our environment and help keep our great province strong."

The Honourable Warren Kaeding, Minister of Government Relations for Saskatchewan

Quick facts

Budget 2019, Investing in the Middle Class, is the Government of Canada's plan to create more good well-paying jobs, put homeownership within reach of more Canadians, help working people get the training they need to succeed, support seniors, and lay the foundation for national pharmacare.

Announcements in Budget 2019 build on the Government's Investing in Canada Plan, under which the Government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years to build infrastructure in communities across the country.

$26.9 billion of this funding is supporting green infrastructure projects, including $5 billion available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Since 2016, the Government of Canada has approved close to 180 new water and wastewater projects across Saskatchewan.

With many municipalities across Canada facing serious infrastructure deficits, Budget 2019 proposes a one-time transfer of $2.2 billion through the federal Gas Tax Fund to address short-term priorities in municipalities and First Nations communities.