Roads, schools and health-care facilities throughout Saskatchewan are all in line for construction and upgrades after the province said it would accelerate funding announced last fall.
Premier Brad Wall said one-third of the $1.5 billion Ready for Growth infrastructure fund would be spent in the current fiscal year. The program was supposed to be part of the 2009-10 budget.
He told delegates to the Feb. 2 Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention that the province needed an “economic booster shot.”
A week later, details of how the $500 million would be spent had been rolled out.
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“It’s not insignificant, to be sure,” Wall told reporters at the Legislature. “We’re talking about 138 specific projects announced in over 70 communities around the province, and these are important projects.”
The government has allocated the bulk of the funding to certain projects but right off the top all municipalities will share $100 million on a $108.79 per capita basis. It is also putting $31.6 million into the provincial share of the Building Canada fund for these projects.
The province’s rural municipalities will get $19.2 million, compared to $58 million for cities, $15.8 million for towns, $5.1 million for villages and resort villages and $1.9 million for northern municipalities.
Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president David Marit said RMs appreciate the money.
The industries that have been driving the economy, such as energy and mining, are located in rural Saskatchewan, he noted, and RMs have to provide the supportive infrastructure.
“We like the fast-tracking of this funding and the elimination of some of the red tape that is a part of many funding programs,” Marit said.
SARM delegates have discussed for years the deteriorating condition of rural bridges, and it’s possible some money could be used to fix them.
However, it won’t be nearly enough to cover the estimated $82 million cost determined in a recent study.
Health minister Don McMorris has announced $152.8 million for long-term care facilities in 13 communities. Education minister Ken Krawetz announced $142 million to fix or replace 102 schools in 63 communities. And university student residences and community housing will use $29.9 million.
On Feb. 10, highways and infrastructure minister Wayne Elhard announced $17.65 million for six projects.
The bulk of the money, $10 million, will support the Global Transportation Hub under development near Regina.
Elhard said the money will help the city put in water and sewer systems to support the project, which includes the relocation of Canadian Pacific Railway’s intermodal facility and construction of a Loblaw’s food distribution centre and other development.
The province is advancing the $10 million because the federal government’s Building Canada infrastructure program is taking so long. Elhard said the city was going to be held back unnecessarily by “notorious delays.”
The federal government in December 2007 pledged $27 million to the project, and the province agreed to match it. However, the money has not yet begun to flow.
“We will collect it back,” Elhard said. “But it’ll have to be applied against a project where we’re going to spend $10 million.”
The remaining $7.65 million will be used to improve interchanges and urban highway connectors. Swift Current will get $6 million to upgrade the interchange at the Trans-Canada and Highway 4 leading to the new regional hospital and business developments on the city’s east side.
Lloydminster will get $750,000, Weyburn, $450,000, Melfort, $300,000 and Humboldt, $150,000.
“We know our province’s municipalities have a serious infrastructure deficit. We also know that municipalities are well positioned to move forward on projects this spring.”
