Gatineau to Get $40 Million for Infrastructure

Time to write to the Mayor and your City Councillor and demand that the Highway 50 and Highway 5 interchange be enhanced and the Alonzo Bridge and Verendrye from Greber to St-Louis be expanded to 2 lanes!

August 31, 2007

The City of Gatineau Receives an Initial Payment of $11,848,869 from the Transfer of a Portion of Federal Gasoline Excise Tax Revenues and the Government of Quebec’s Contribution

Gatineau, Quebec - The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Benoît Pelletier, Quebec Minister responsible for the Outaouais region and MNA for Chapleau, on behalf of Nathalie Normandeau, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions, are pleased to announce that the City of Gatineau will receive $11,848,869 under the federal-provincial agreement on the transfer of a portion of federal gasoline excise tax revenues and the Government of Quebec’s contribution. This is the first payment for the City of Gatineau, which will receive a total of $37,027,716 over the next four years for major infrastructure projects. Also present at this event today were Stéphanie Vallée, MNA for Gatineau, and Charlotte L’Écuyer, MNA for Pontiac.

“We all know to what extent modern infrastructure benefits to all Canadians and is instrumental to the environment and the economy of the country”, said Minister Lawrence Cannon. “This is why our government works in partnership with the Quebec government to make cities and communities in Quebec the best places to live, study, work and visit.”

“The repair and modernization of public infrastructure is a high priority for the Government of Quebec. The funding announced today is a reflection of our commitment to improve the quality of life of residents. With this agreement, the City of Gatineau will now be able to rely on stable annual funding, which will facilitate planning the work that needs to be done,” said Minister Benoît Pelletier.

“I am pleased that the City of Gatineau can benefit from this governmental funding in order to modernize the drinking water treatment plan in the Aylmer sector,” added the Mayor of Gatineau, Marc Bureau.

The goal of the Canada-Quebec Agreement is to provide funding for the renewal of municipal and local infrastructure, and specifically for municipal drinking water, wastewater, local road system and public transit infrastructure, within a context of sustainable development. Canada’s new government will pay the Government of Quebec a total of $1.34 billion over five years, to which Quebec will add $475.7 million, for a grand total of $1.8 billion. Including contributions from municipalities, $2.3 billion will go toward renewing municipal infrastructure. The funds will be administered by the Société de financement des infrastructures locales du Québec (SOFIL).