Government of Yukon
Archives
FOR RELEASE #08-213
September 5, 2008
Canada and Yukon Fund Water Supply System in Haines Junction
WHITEHORSE, YUKON - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, and the Honourable Archie Lang, Yukon Minister of Community Services, today announced funding for improvements to Haines Junction's water supply system.
"The Government of Canada is taking concrete steps to improve community infrastructure in the North," said Minister Strahl. "This project supports the Government's priority of ensuring that clean, reliable sources of drinking water are available in rural communities in the Yukon, and throughout Canada."
The Village of Haines Junction will receive $245,267 under the Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF). This water system project will improve the pumping capacity of local wells and will include a water testing station.
"The Yukon government remains committed to creating a better quality of life for Yukoners through healthy and strong communities," said Minister Lang. "The Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund provides the opportunity for Yukon to partner with Canada and local governments to provide funding to enhance Yukon community infrastructure and services."
Canada and Yukon will provide two-thirds of the total project funding and the Village of Haines Junction will provide the additional $123,000 in eligible costs.
The Government of Canada supports a vision of a new North that realizes its full potential and secures its future, for the benefit of all Canadians. Our integrated Northern Strategy supports this vision by focusing on four integrated priorities: economic and social development, governance, environmental protection, and sovereignty.
For more information about the Government of Canada and Government of Yukon infrastructure programs, visit http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/ or http://www.gov.yk.ca/.
-30-
This release and backgrounder are also available on the Internet at www.inac.gc.ca
| For more information, please contact: | |
| Line Gagnon Senior Communications Advisor Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Yukon Region (867) 667-3315 |
Media Relations Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 819-953-1160 |
| Roxanne Vallevand, Communications Advisor Government of Yukon (867) 633-7949 roxanne.vallevand@gov.yk.ca |
Nathalie Harwood Communications Analyst Community Services Government of Yukon (867) 667-5075 nathalie.harwood@gov.yk.ca |
Backgrounder
The Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) is a federal-territorial funding program created to help address the infrastructure needs of urban and rural areas. The program began in 2005 and will run until 2011-12. It helps Yukon municipalities and their residents ensure they have access to the same quality of public infrastructure as communities in the rest of Canada.
Over the life of the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund agreement, the governments of Canada and the Yukon will each invest over $19 million in various community infrastructure projects. To date, more than $25 million in MRIF project funding has been committed to 17 projects, in cooperation with municipal and First Nation governments in the Yukon. By the end of the program, up to $57 million dollars will have been spent to improve infrastructure in the Yukon Territory.
The MRIF project funding for the Village of Haines Junction will contribute up to $245,267 of the project costs for the improvement of pumping capacity at well #3, as well as the installation of a pump at well #5. A sampling station will also be installed at well #5. This project will ensure that the water and safety needs of the community are met, now and in the future.