Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador invest in public infrastructure and public transit for the St. John’s Metropolitan Area
The health and well-being of Canadians are top priorities for the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Communities across Canada are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and need immediate assistance to ensure public infrastructure is safe and reliable.
Both governments have been taking decisive action to support families, businesses and communities, and continue to see what more can be done in these unprecedented times.
On April 16, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South—Mount Pearl, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities; the Honourable Elvis Loveless, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and His Worship Danny Breen, Mayor of the City of St. John’s, announced funding to support 15 public building and public transit projects in the St. John’s Metropolitan Area.
These projects improve essential components of public buildings in the St. John’s Metropolitan Area. For example, windows will be replaced at the Prince of Wales Collegiate and Gonzaga High in St. John’s, and at Holy Trinity High in Torbay. The Petten Building and Provincial Building 909 will receive new and reliable roofs. Further, the Duckworth Street Provincial Building will receive drainage system repairs, and the Supreme Court Building will receive HVAC improvements and accessibility upgrades for courtrooms.
In addition, St. John’s residents will benefit from an upgrade to the electronic fare collection system on both Metrobus and GoBus (para-transit) services. This will improve accurate fare collection and the ability to offer real time mobile ticketing or phone payment options to public transit passengers.
The Government of Canada is investing more than $4.9 million toward these projects through COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream and the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is also contributing over $1.3 million towards the projects while the City of St. John’s is providing $122,040 for one project.
“We’re improving public infrastructure and transit in St. John’s and Torbay to make our communities cleaner and more inclusive,” said The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South—Mount Pearl, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
“This is the third time this week we have announced funding for infrastructure upgrades in our province. Provincial buildings often require maintenance and repairs, and we remain committed to addressing these needs. I look forward to working with the towns and federal government on funding for more projects.”
