WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s $5.5-billion five-year infrastructure plan will create 58,000 jobs, provincial officials said Wednesday morning.
But the plans depend on federal funding officials admitted they have not yet secured.
Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton and Jobs and Economy Minister Theresa Oswald released the plan and a report on its economic impacts at a news conference at the Manitoba legislature.
The Manitoba NDP government said the provincial sales tax was raised one percentage point last summer to fund the infrastructure plan.
About $320 million is earmarked for flood protection, while $1.5 billion is to be spent on municipal infrastructure.
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The five-year plan, which includes projects that have already been announced individually, will bring a $6.3-billion boost to the provincial economy, the province said. It also includes approximately $45 million federal funding each year, which will be applied for on a project-by-project basis, Ashton said.
There have been no discussions yet with Shelly Glover, Manitoba’s senior member of Parliament. Glover, the St. Boniface MP and federal heritage minister, blasted the province late last year for making infrastructure announcements that depend on federal funding without first consulting Ottawa.
“They continue to make promises it seems on different infrastructure projects … and making commitments that they believe will be injecting money,” Glover said on Dec. 18. “We need to work collaboratively.”
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The investments will create jobs and help boost provincial exports, Oswald said.
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The five-year plan will be independently reviewed each year, Ashton said.
A recent poll done for Global News and CJOB by Insightrix Research suggested Winnipeggers believe infrastructure maintenance is the most important issue facing the city.
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Many Winnipeggers felt their commute had gotten worse than it was five years ago, and more than one-third said widening major routes was the best way to deal with traffic headaches, newly released poll results suggest.
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A City of Winnipeg request for bids on professional consulting services suggests a Waverley Street underpass at the CN main line will be part of the infrastructure plans.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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