WATCH: The Liberal government is having a second look at the proposed downtown Moncton Event Centre, but the city believes it’s closer than ever to its goal. Alex Abdelwahab reports.
MONCTON – Thursday’s transit funding announcement in Moncton is good news for the city who’s attention has been on its downtown core.
Codiac Transpo will be getting $2.7 million from the federal government and $1.8 million from the province to purchase eleven new buses. The total cost will be about $5.48 million and Moncton will pay the rest.
But the announcement also forms part of the city’s bigger plan to get a downtown event centre built.
“This is one of the projects we had in the menu for the replacement funding program,” said Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc. “Obviously we still have to finalize things with the province.”
The event centre is not eligible for federal funding itself, because it includes plans for a professional hockey arena that would potentially be the home of the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
But, the city is using a replacement funding model to offset this, by applying for federal funding for other city projects that are eligible. When the federal government helps fund projects like purchasing new city buses, it frees up money that the city can then put toward funding the centre.
There appears to be some movement on the provincial side as well. Earlier this week, the province released new guidelines that it would follow to fund any recreational infrastructure projects, like the centre.
“I see this as a very positive step,” LeBlanc said. “Put that together with the invitation from the Premier to sit down and talk. I have a meeting between himself, myself and our MP Mr. Goguen. I think it’s all very positive.”
Mayor LeBlanc said he believed the centre met all of the conditions of the guidelines.
On Thursday MLA Monique LeBlanc reiterated that there has been a criteria established for any provincial funding projects, but would not comment on any possible funding for the centre.
She said that Thursday’s announcement of transit funding is not decided under the same model, and it did not relate to the centre.
“For the downtown centre, this is another project. Totally unrelated to this one,” she said.
The topic of the centre also came up at the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting held Thursday morning in Riverview.
It is one of the projects the Chamber has been heavily advocating for and Carol O’Reilly, the CEO, said their members believe it will be very beneficial for the business community right across Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview.
“We spoke out about some of the decisions that were being made. We spoke out about the delays in making decisions,” said O’Reilly.
Meanwhile, LeBlanc said the meeting with the Premier has not been scheduled yet, but he’s told the Premier: “tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
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