Communities all over Manitoba are benefitting from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. On July 31, two days before an election was called, Portage-Lisgar Conservative MP Candice Bergen visited Churchill to make an announcement on behalf of Michelle Rempel, minister of state for Western Economic Diversification.
During the funding announcement it was shared that four projects would be receiving $466,260 overall.
The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program helps fund renovations, expansions and rehabilitations of existing infrastructure that benefits the community.
One of the four projects that is receiving funding is an upgrade to the baseball field in Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN). The community will be receiving $125,335 to go towards the park.
NCN will also be receiving another $87,600 to go towards upgrades to the entrance sign and to construct a cenotaph.
The third project is happening is in Churchill, and that’s the replacement of the gravel baseball diamond at the multipurpose sports field. $221,825 will go to that project.
The final project highlighted in the announcement is $31,500 for upgrades to the Sunset Bay Beach in Snow Lake. Jordan Willner, chief administrative officer for the Town of Snow Lake, says the funding will be put with other funding the municipality and the Snow Lake Beach Enhancement Committee has obtained.
Upgrades including landscaping, installing a culvert to assist with drainage, and replacing the swimming dock with a new one.
On July 31, it was also announced that five other projects would be benefiting from the new Building Canada Plan’s Small Communities Fund. The fund will provide $5,098,127 and the province of Manitoba will contribute $5,296,255 to the projects as well.
Churchill will be getting a new sewer line on Kelsey Boulevard that is pre-insulated and suitable for northern weather, since the previous line is 40 years old. Five-hundred metres of water and wastewater lines will be replaced in Snow Lake and The Pas will replace the town’s waterline due to non-stop breaks.
Flin Flon will be replacing a heating plant and a lift station. The heating plant is used to distribute drinking water and provide heating for waterline freezing protection.
On top of those bigger northern communities, Waterhen, Camperville, and Duck Bay will have funding to upgrade the automated control systems that manage three different water treatment plants.
