In letters addressed to his provincial counterparts, Minister Amarjeet Sohi has provided the details of the government’s Phase 1 infrastructure spending, including allocations under the new Clean Water and Wastewater Fund.

The letters provided details about the government’s plan to accelerate funding for projects that rehabilitate and modernize public infrastructure—including the amounts allocated to each province and territory under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund (CWWF).

At a Liberal cabinet retreat in Kananaskis, Alberta, Sohi told reporters, “There is money for design, there is money for planning and there is money for doing small projects if they are ready to move ahead with them.”

In the letters to each province, the federal government stated that the CWWF will primarily focus investments on meeting immediate priorities for clean water and wastewater to support a cleaner and healthier environment for communities. These include:

  • The rehabilitation and optimization of water, storm water, and wastewater related infrastructure;
  • Improvement of asset management approaches including studies and pilot projects;
  • Planning for future upgrades to wastewater treatment and collection infrastructure to meet applicable regulatory requirements; and
  • New construction projects, including the construction of naturalized systems for management and treatment of wastewater and storm water may also be considered if they can be completed within the program timeframe.

“There are big challenges related to not doing the rehabilitation and the repairs that are necessary and for Phase 2 we have already started consultations and that’s where we will have the opportunities to support transformative projects,” Sohi said.

The CWWF allocation for each province and territory are as follows:

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The Phase 1 announcements is part of the government’s plan to double infrastructure spending over the next 10 years to bring the overall federal investment to $120 billion, as promised in the 2016 budget.

The letters Sohi sent out last week also outline changes to the government’s existing infrastructure program, known as the New Building Canada Fund.

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