Federal and Provincial Programs

Ontario municipalities receive no stable funding for infrastructure from the federal or provincial governments. Instead, these levels of government are providing short-term, program funding on a project-by-project basis. Although these funds allow projects that may otherwise not be affordable to move forward, they are unreliable and are developed outside of local government's priorities. The current programs, outlined below, have a three- to ten-year window.

The Federal Government's Urban Initiative
The Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues was created in May 2001 to develop an urban strategy for the federal government. The Task Force's interim report acknowledged the problems facing municipalities. Given the limitations imposed by the property tax model, cities struggle to fund programs and infrastructure construction required by economic growth. The Task Force acknowledges the federal government has a critical role to play in supporting sustainable growth in Canada's cities.

The interim report's recommendations included establishing stable national funding programs for transit, affordable housing, and major building projects such as sewer and water systems. The Task Force's final report is due before the end of 2002.

SuperBuild Millenium Partnership and Canada Ontario Infrastructure Program
The SuperBuild Millenium Partnership and the Canada Ontario Infrastructure Program are multi-year, province-wide programs that distribute funds on a relatively short-term, project-by-project basis. Although these programs provide the City with a welcome revenue source, the City has been forced to shift some of its priorities to take advantage of available funds.

The SuperBuild Millenium Partnership is a five-year, provincial initiative that each year directs $250 million to strategic infrastructure projects in eight major urban centres located outside the Greater Toronto Area. A $70 million funding envelope has been allocated to the City. In January 2002, the province designated $25 million for the Ottawa Congress Centre, and up to $45 million for several transportation improvement and expansion projects.

In 2000, the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario created the Canada Ontario Infrastructure Program. Under this program, the federal government funds one-third of total eligible costs for projects approved by the province. This six-year program is administered by SuperBuild Corporation. (Details of this program can be found in Appendix 3.1) Federal and provincial revenues from future programs have been included in the City's long-range financial plan at $15 million per year from 2006 onward.

Transit Investment Partnership
Under Transit Investment Partnership (TIP), the Government of Ontario announced that it will share the costs of inter-regional transit projects in municipalities outside of the Golden Horseshoe region over the next ten years up to a total of $250 million. The City submitted an application for $121.1 million over five years to fund rapid transit projects. (Details of the City's submission can be found in Appendix 3.2). On August 16, 2002, the Government of Ontario announced that it will fund one-third of some projects for a total of $59 million.

Projects submitted for TIP funding will be put forward again as long-term projects in phase two of the TIP application process. The City assumes this program will continue and the federal government will provide a one-third share in 2004 and in the years to follow. As a result, 66.7 per cent grant funding has been applied to transit improvement projects between 2004 and 2011.

Transit Capital Renewal Program
Another component of the provincial plan is the Transit Capital Renewal (TCR) program. This program provides funding for transit fleet replacement and for vehicle refurbishing to extend vehicle life.

In February 2002, the province announced $100 million to be shared by 65 municipalities. Ottawa's share of this fund-$12,869,717-has been applied to capital programs for bus replacement and refurbishing. The capital forecast assumes that the TCR program will cover one-third of transit renewal funding requirements over the forecast period.

Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund
In August 2002, the federal government announced a new $2 billion fund for highways and railways, local transportation, tourism and urban development, water and sewage, and high speed Internet service. Under this program, public transit has been identified as a priority. The City has not designated its share to specific projects, as insufficient program details and criteria are available at this time. This revenue, however, has been applied on a general basis to fund the tax-supported capital program.

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