Federal and provincial dollars continued flowing into the region last week.
Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton and MPP Garfield Dunlop were in Midland on July 3 to announce almost $1 million in recreational infrastructure money for the Town of Midland, Township of Tay and Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island.
“These various announcements that we’ve made in support of Canada’s and Ontario’s infrastructure programs have come out quickly in an effort to get projects announced quickly and, more importantly, to get the funds out there and allow municipalities and other applicants to get their projects underway,” said Stanton, who announced the money as part of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RINC) Fund, which was originally announced in the 2009 federal budget.
Midland will receive $730,000, split evenly between the federal and provincial governments, for Little Lake Park renewal; Beausoleil First Nation will get $100,000 from each of the governments for a community rink; and Tay will receive $692,000 from the two levels of government for the hard surfacing and covering of one of its community rinks.
All of these projects are intended to be completed by March 2011, noted Stanton.
“It’s part of getting dollars into the communities,” he said. “The great news is, when we invest in recreation, tremendous things happen.”
Dunlop said with last October’s economic stumble, all levels of government have had to scramble due to lack of revenue.
“Both the Ontario and federal governments have responded by investing substantial sums of money into infrastructure so that … jobs have been created, whether in hard services (or) soft services,” he said.
Dunlop said the local projects are particularly “neat” when it comes to recreation.
“There’s not an outdoor rink on this planet that if you had a cover over it or a hard surface on it, that it (wouldn’t) be utilized,” he said. “We’re Canadians. We love hockey. We love skating. It’s part of our culture and being a Canadian, so it’s so nice to see these ice surfaces one at a time being fixed up and utilized by our communities.”
Dunlop said money for Little Lake Park – which he called “one of the most beautiful parks in the province” – is also nice to see.
Midland Mayor Jim Downer said this latest funding was like Christmas morning for the town.
“We’ve received $12 million in two years.… That has never happened before. This frees up tax dollars to do other things in the town of Midland,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see all levels of government pulling on the same rope.”
Downer said the funding will help rejuvenate much of the park.
“I think (parks and recreation director Brian) Peter has numerous projects he’s going to direct the funds to and will enhance the park and make it even more beautiful than it is today.”
This funding shows just how important recreation is to Tay Township, noted Mayor Scott Warnock.
“There is a definite commitment by the Township of Tay towards developing our recreational facilities, and this is just another step in doing that,” he said. “Eventually, down the road, we will have them all done. It’s a step in the right direction and another amenity we can add to the entire municipality.
“This announcement today indicates to everyone out there that it’s not just sewers and roads and that kind of infrastructure, but that there’s the other side, which is the culture and recreational side.”