Intertribal Life Newspaper -

WHITEHORSE, Yukon-Yukon has received the first of two $8.25 million annual installments of the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF), along with a top-up of $16.5 million, made available through Budget 2019. This top-up doubles the amount of money for municipalities, unincorporated communities and First Nations in Yukon, enabling them to carry out infrastructure projects that support the well-being of their residents.

The federal GTF is a long-term, indexed source of funding that supports a diverse range of local infrastructure projects across the territory each year. For example, upgrades to the Hart Crescent recirculation station in Riverdale are providing Whitehorse residents with a more reliable and consistent supply of clean drinking water. Meanwhile, the City of Dawson used its Gas Tax funding to build a new concession building at a local park for residents to enjoy. And members of the Kluane First Nation are enjoying a cleaner environment with the purchase of a new truck that pumps out the community's local septic systems.

This predictable funding, enhanced by a doubling of the 2018-19 GTF allocations, as announced in Budget 2019, is allowing municipalities, unincorporated communities and First Nations to plan for current and future infrastructure priorities, so they can build the resilient infrastructure of the 21st century that residents deserve, and help ensure that Yukon remains among the best places in the world to live.

The federal Gas Tax Fund delivers over $2 billion every year to over 3,600 communities across the country. In recent years the funding has supported approximately 4,000 projects each year.

To help address the short-term infrastructure priorities of municipalities, local governments and Indigenous communities, Budget 2019 includes a top-up of $2.2 billion to the federal Gas Tax Fund. 

The federal Gas Tax Fund is flexible in allowing communities to apply funding to their most pressing local needs. Communities can invest across 18 different project categories, including recreation, water systems and roads. They can also use the funds immediately for priority projects, bank them for later use, pool the dollars with other communities for shared infrastructure projects, or use them to finance major infrastructure expenditures.

Through its Investing in Canada plan, the Government of Canada is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

The plan includes more than $92 billion for funding such as the Gas Tax Fund and more than $95 billion in new funding for infrastructure programs. 

To date, more than 48,000 projects have been approved under the plan and the majority of these projects are either underway, or already completed.