Every British Columbia community to benefit from federal Gas Tax Fund transfer

First of two annual installments delivered to support local infrastructure priorities

VICTORIA, July 27, 2017 /CNW/ - Modern and up-to-date community infrastructure helps connect people to jobs and provides access to better community services, attracts new businesses and creates economic growth.

This month, the Government of Canada delivered the first of two annual $132.97 million federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) installments to British Columbia. In total, the province will be provided with over $265.94 million this year through the fund. The funding, which flows through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to all communities on a per capita basis, is now available to support community infrastructure projects.

Based on previous years, GTF funding supports over 700 local infrastructure projects across British Columbia each year.

Some examples of the projects being funded this year include the replacement of the 5^th Street water main in the City of Grand Forks. The City of Chilliwack has plans to replace their existing curling rink with a new one, and the City of Abbotsford will be developing a new vision for a more populated, attractive and walkable neighbourhood with their newly funded City Centre Neighbourhood Plan (CCNP). The range of planned projects helps demonstrate the flexibility that the GTF provides.

The two federal Gas Tax Fund installments for this year are in addition to funds flowing to British Columbia under the Investing in Canada Plan.

Quotes

"Through the federal Gas Tax Fund, communities across British Columbia and the rest of Canada can direct federal funding to the infrastructure projects that address the most pressing needs of local residents and businesses, from improving drinking water to building new recreational facilities. The Government of Canada is proud to deliver this predictable, long-term funding to help ensure access to good middle class jobs, increased mobility, greater economic opportunities, sustainable communities and a high quality of life for all Canadians."

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
On behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"We recognize the value of our partnership and the importance of the federal and provincial governments working with local governments to make large projects possible. Through this agreement, we continue to invest in capital projects that support community infrastructure projects throughout the province. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for their ongoing commitment and we are pleased to contribute through the federal Gas Tax Fund."

The Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

"The federal Gas Tax Fund continues to provide valuable long-term stable and predictable funding to all Local Governments in British Columbia for critical investments in local and regional infrastructure and capacity building priorities. We appreciate the positive impact the federal Gas Tax Fund continues to have in our communities."

Murry Krause,
President, Union of B.C. Municipalities

Quick facts

• Since the program was first introduced in 2005, over $2.7 billion has been provided to British Columbia communities through the federal Gas Tax Fund.
• The federal Gas Tax Fund makes over $2 billion available each year, and through it provides each community across Canada with a permanent, predictable and indexed source of long-term funding. The funding is made available in two annual installments, in July and November.
• The federal Gas Tax Fund offers significant flexibility. Local communities can make strategic investments across 18 different project categories, including roads and bridges, public transit, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, and recreational facilities.
• Communities can use the funds immediately for priority projects, bank the funds for later use, pool the dollars with other communities for shared infrastructure projects or use it to finance major infrastructure expenditures.
• The Government of Canada will invest more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
• The GTF is administered in British Columbia by the Union of B.C. Municipalities in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

Related products

Federal Gas Tax allocations for British Columbia communities in 2017-18

 Backgrounder

This month, the Government of Canada delivered the first of two annual $132.97 million federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF) installments to British Columbia. In total, the province will be provided with over $265,940,736 million this year. The funding, which flows through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to all 189 local governments on a per capita basis, is now available to support community local infrastructure projects. Note that a portion of the annual BC allocation is awarded on an application basis to support strategic priorities across the province.

The following table indicates this year's federal Gas Tax Fund allocation for British Columbia communities.

Location	Federal Funding
100 Mile House	$132,060
Abbotsford	$5,684,021
Alberni-Clayoquot	$466,542
Alert Bay	$71,272
Anmore	$58,770
Armstrong	$255,619
Ashcroft	$121,176
Barriere	$127,293
Belcarra	$54,430
Bowen Island	$62,697
Bulkley-Nechako	$880,879
Burnaby	$721,592
Burns Lake	$138,092
Cache Creek	$96,372
Campbell River	$1,368,069
Canal Flats	$82,662
Capital	$1,095,936
Cariboo	$1,715,502
Castlegar	$382,215
Central Coast	$187,743
Central Kootenay	$1,333,225
Central Okanagan	$673,753
Central Saanich	$724,754
Chase	$157,750
Chetwynd	$163,656
Chilliwack	$3,340,201
Clearwater	$150,832
Clinton	$79,329.
Coldstream	$487,592
Columbia Shuswap	$886,363
Colwood	$731,377
Comox Valley	$998,026
Comox	$627,349
Coquitlam	$431,550
Courtenay	$1,069,107
Cowichan Valley	$1,558,407
Cranbrook	$867,464
Creston	$276,331
Cumberland	$195,843
Dawson Creek	$541,124
Delta	$351,837
Duncan	$260,554
East Kootenay	$711,803
Elkford	$158,931
Enderby	$176,185
Esquimalt	$736,270
Fernie	$240,137
Fort St. James	$123,834
Fort St. John	$837,513
Fraser Lake	$101,729
Fraser Valley	$754,156
Fraser-Fort George	$676,495
Fruitvale	$137,544
Gibsons	$239,673
Gold River	$105,947
Golden	$208,625
Grand Forks	$220,605
Granisle	$65,281
Metro Vancouver Regional District (Translink)	$131,749,184
Metro Vancouver Regional District (Unincorporated Areas)	$115,833
Greenwood	$82,366
Harrison Hot Springs	$114,427
Hazelton	$63,889
Highlands	$141,931
Hope	$304,300
Houston	$185,255
Hudson's Hope	$93,419
Invermere	$177,155
Jumbo	$52,500
Kamloops	$3,666,794
Kaslo	$95,781
Kelowna	$5,001,263
Kent	$291,433
Keremeos	$108,605
Kimberley	$333,112
Kitimat	$404,108
Kitimat-Stikine	$732,094
Kootenay Boundary	$465,403
Ladysmith	$386,644
Lake Country	$546,397
Lake Cowichan	$177,957
Langford	$1,285,472
Langley (City)	$127,679
Langley (Township)	$364,769
Lantzville	$204,406
Lillooet	$150,452
Lions Bay	$56,450
Logan Lake	$139,948
Lumby	$125,521
Lytton	$62,118
Mackenzie	$200,441
Maple Ridge	$280,464
Masset	$89,791
McBride	$77,220
Merritt	$352,559
Metchosin	$255,112
Midway	$80,932
Mission	$1,589,117
Montrose	$95,950
Mount Waddington	$210,397
Nakusp	$118,687
Nanaimo (City)	$3,587,994
Nanaimo (Regional District)	$1,676,566
Nelson	$484,048
New Denver	$73,761
New Hazelton	$80,594
New Westminster	$250,262
North Cowichan	$1,267,712
North Okanagan	$821,947
North Saanich	$520,285
North Vancouver (City)	$196,966
North Vancouver (District)	$305,523
Northern Rockies (Regional Municipality)	$287,805
Oak Bay	$812,456
Okanagan-Similkameen	$1,016,925
Oliver	$255,998
Osoyoos	$256,884
Parksville	$557,745
Peace River	$957,950
Peachland	$271,860
Pemberton	$152,435
Penticton	$1,439,404
Pitt Meadows	$105,663
Port Alberni	$800,981
Port Alice	$86,458
Port Clements	$68,445
Port Coquitlam	$221,384
Port Edward	$75,448
Port Hardy	$221,576
Port McNeill	$158,172
Port Moody	$151,342
Pouce Coupe	$83,632
Powell River (City)	$607,860
Powell River (Regional District)	$335,938
Prince George	$3,088,696
Prince Rupert	$580,145
Princeton	$167,410
Qualicum Beach	$418,957
Queen Charlotte	$92,322
Quesnel	$474,641
Radium Hot Springs	$85,277
Revelstoke	$353,656
Richmond	$623,440
Rossland	$202,508
Saanich	$4,682,347
Salmo	$100,548
Salmon Arm	$789,212
Sayward	$65,872
Sunshine Coast	$87,049
Sechelt	$444,437
Sicamous	$155,472
Sidney	$524,039
Silverton	$60,726
North Coast Regional District (previously Skeena-Queen Charlotte)	$201,243
Slocan	$64,986
Smithers	$280,465
Sooke	$534,881
Spallumcheen	$265,743
Sparwood	$207,191
Squamish	$776,303
Squamish-Lillooet	$326,615
Stewart	$73,339
Strathcona	$476,075
Summerland	$528,342
Sun Peaks	$68,150
Sunshine Coast	$647,050
Surrey	$1,456,075
Tahsis	$65,830
Taylor	$110,419
Telkwa	$109,449
Terrace	$537,032
Thompson-Nicola	$1,027,260
Tofino	$131,638
Trail	$376,520
Tumbler Ridge	$166,820
Ucluelet	$121,134
Valemount	$95,528
Vancouver	$1,861,488
Vanderhoof	$241,487
Vernon	$1,661,843
Victoria	$3,427,987
View Royal	$448,234
Warfield	$124,213
Wells	$62,835
West Kelowna	$1,355,667
West Vancouver	$180,474
Whistler	$466,921
White Rock	$110,468
Williams Lake	$509,443
Zeballos	$57,773

For more information on the federal Gas Tax Fund, please visit:
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gtf-fte-eng.html

Associated links

The federal Gas Tax Fund: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gtf-fte-eng.html

The federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia:http://municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/gtf-funding-allocations-eligibility http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/map-carte/bc-eng.html

Investing in Canada, the Government of Canada's new $180 billion infrastructure plan: http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/about-invest-apropos-eng.html

Twitter: @INFC_eng
Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

For further information: Brook Simpson, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, 613-219-0149, [e-mail]; Lisa Leslie, Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, 250-213-7724, [e-mail]; Gary MacIsaac, Executive Director, Union of BC Municipalities, 250-356-2956, [e-mail]; Infrastructure Canada: 613-960-9251, Toll free: 1-877-250-7154, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/