City of Prince Rupert secures 77.2 Million dollars from Federal Government for infrastructure work

It was a big day for Prince Rupert with the Mayor in Victoria to receive word
of Federal funding for infrastructure work in the community
(image from City of PR)

The celebrations began over the noon hour at Prince Rupert City Hall, with the city announcing success towards its quest for Federal Infrastructure funding, announcing that the City of Prince Rupert will receive 77.2 million dollars from Infrastructure  Canada.

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond, along with MLA Rice, MP Taylor Bachrach and PRPA President and CEO Shaun Stevenson were all on hand for the federal announcement.

Also in Victoria for the announcement were City Manager Robert Buchan and Richard Pucci, Director of Operations and Intergovernmental Relations.

The City's social media relay of the statement noting of the work that went into the process and the help all involved towards todays  announcement.

 

This is a massive win for our community, and we are so very grateful to our Federal partners for stepping up to support critical renewal in our distribution system, as well as to the Province for their initial $65 million commitment last Spring, and to our MLA Jennifer Rice, MP Taylor Bachrach and their colleagues in government, as well as community partners at the Prince Rupert Port Authority who all supported us in advocating for the need here. 

We are also so grateful to our staff and contractors who pulled through in challenging times to literally keep the water running.

The full announcement from the Federal Government which you can review here, outlines the scope of the Federal investment today.

Announced by Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Mayor Herb Pond, this project will address critical concerns with the City’s water distribution infrastructure, increase its resilience to seismic events, and modernize its century-old sewage pipes. 

Federal funding will support the modernization of the water and wastewater infrastructure to increase the City’s resilience to natural hazards and their impact. Once completed, it will also help secure the water supply and sewer pipe systems to protect community members’ livelihoods, essential services, and local businesses, and minimize disruptions to the flow of global trade and supply chains through the Port of Prince Rupert. Home to Canada’s third largest port, Prince Rupert is a gateway to Asia’s markets, which contributes significantly to the northern provincial and national economy. 

With a high proportion of pipes installed in the early 1900s, Prince Rupert’s water distribution network requires major updates. Funding will support upgrades to 26 km of high priority watermains and the separation of the combined sewer system to divide storm water from sewage. Work will include excavation, stabilization of the soil, the installation of new PVC piping, and upgrading catchments. This announcement furthers a provincial investment of $65 million from March 2023 towards the critical water infrastructure renewal.

Mayor Pond noted through today's announcement of the importance of Prince Rupert as a Gateway city for Canada.

“We are transforming Prince Rupert into one of Canada’s most important gateway cities; securing a trade corridor that boosts communities right across Canada.

But we can’t do it alone. It’s why this unprecedented investment by our Federal partners is so meaningful.

Their commitment to growing economic opportunities across the corridor remains steadfast. We are grateful to be part of it.”

The City has also released a video related to today's announcement,  the Five minute tutorial outlining the city's success, what led up to it and what's to come in the future.

The Federal funding which comes from the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, will now combine the province's 65 million dollars from last year and the loans process recently approved  by Council/

The federal money is the largest federal grant to Prince Rupert in the city's history.

All of that to be put towards the many challenges facing the city's aging infrasructure.

The Mayor also used his social media platform to note of today's announcement and the success that city has found from the long running quest for funding. 

MLA Jennifer Rice also joined in on today's celebratory themes.

A look at some of the work ahead can be explored through our archive page here.

More notes on City Council themes can be explored here.