$6 MILLION IN ANNUAL ROADS, BRIDGES, WATER FUNDING
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Annual infrastructure funding from the province to the tune of almost $6 million will help shore up local roads, bridges, water and wastewater facilities as communities struggle with the economic and tax fallout from COVID-19.
The province says it is making more investments in small, rural and northern communities through its Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).
“I am very pleased to see municipalities in Parry Sound-Muskoka receiving a total of more than $5.8 million to address their local infrastructure needs,” said MPP Norman Miller in a release this week. “These community infrastructure projects are often the backbone of the community and this funding is all the more important under our current circumstances.”
“Investing in local infrastructure projects that help strengthen our communities and support Ontario’s long-term economic recovery is important to help get shovels in the ground on important community projects,” added Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott. “This investment provides stable funding to assist small, rural and northern municipalities address local priorities and modernize public infrastructure.
Total investments in communities across Parry Sound-Muskoka are as follows:
| Municipality | OCIF Allocation 2021 |
| Armour Township | $87,003 |
| Bracebridge | $246,774 |
| Burk’s Falls | $130,463 |
| Carling | $50,000 |
| Georgian Bay Township | $61,249 |
| Gravenhurst | $110,245 |
| Huntsville | $337,498 |
| Joly Township | $50,000 |
| Kearney | $86,630 |
| Lake of Bays | $87,640 |
| Machar Township | $50,000 |
| Magnetawan | $68,261 |
| McDougall | $149,179 |
| McKellar | $54,514 |
| McMurrich / Monteith | $50,000 |
| Muskoka District | $2,616,152 |
| Muskoka Lakes | $196,177 |
| Parry Sound | $746,185 |
| Perry | $50,000 |
| Ryerson | $50,000 |
| Seguin | $162,321 |
| South River | $50,000 |
| Strong | $78,626 |
| Sundridge | $73,322 |
| The Archipelago | $111,775 |
| Whitestone | $50,000 |
| TOTAL IN RIDING | $ 5,804,014 |
The province says this funding is a part of about a $200 million commitment to 424 communities to help address core municipal infrastructure projects and asset management planning needs in 2021.
It says recognizing that municipalities have different infrastructure needs, the province uses a straightforward and transparent formula that examines various social and economic factors to determine funding allocations across the province.
The Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund provides stable and predictable funding for communities with populations under 100,000, along with all rural and northern communities.
About $200 million in funding was allocated to small, rural and northern communities for 2021. Municipalities may accumulate their OCIF funding for up to five years to address larger infrastructure projects.
Ontario also provides funding to communities through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), a $30-billion, 10-year infrastructure program cost-shared between federal, provincial and municipal governments. Ontario’s share per project will be up to 33.33 per cent, or $10.2 billion spread across four streams: Rural and Northern, Public Transit, Green, and Community, Culture and Recreation.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund recipients – Datasets – Ontario Data Catalogue
