NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2008CD0103-001447 Oct. 6, 2008	Ministry of Community Development
BETTER COMMUNITIES WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING

VICTORIA – Fifty-eight local governments across B.C. will share $819,400 from the second round of the Province’s annual Infrastructure Planning Grant program, helping them to study the feasibility of infrastructure projects in their communities, Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom announced.

 

“We recognize the importance of helping British Columbia’s communities as they develop even better places to live and work,” said Lekstrom. “By helping local governments with infrastructure planning, we are helping to find local solutions to create the necessary infrastructure for our growing communities.”

 

The Infrastructure Planning Grant Program offers grants up to $10,000 to help local governments plan, design and manage infrastructure. The grants support projects that improve infrastructure sustainability such as long-term comprehensive plans and studies needed to assess the economic and environmental feasibility proposed for water, sewer, drainage and transportation infrastructure.

 

These grants are among a series of provincial funding initiatives available to local governments to help improve community infrastructure, providing the research and basis for some of the follow-up work though the other programs. For example, almost half of the projects submitted to the Canada-B.C. Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) for funding were initiated with infrastructure planning grants. Earlier this year, nearly $890,000 in additional infrastructure planning grants were announced for B.C. communities.

 

This planning grant funding builds on a series of provincial programs – including Towns for Tomorrow, LocalMotion, and B.C. Spirit Squares, as well as the new Canada B.C. Building Canada fund – that improve fitness, reduce pollution and encourage conservation in British Columbia communities.

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Marc Black Ministry of Community Development 250 387-4089
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