The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Member of Parliament for Westmount - Ville-Marie and the Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada and regional Minister for Alberta, with their provincial colleague, the Honourable Ed Stelmach, Minister of Alberta Infrastructure, participated in the formal signing of the Infrastructure Canada-Alberta Partnership Agreement in Edmonton today.

The Infrastructure Canada-Alberta program will mean a total injection of up to $513 million to rural and urban municipalities across Alberta, with equal contributions from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.

Both ministers praised the agreement as a superb example of how different orders of government can work together for the benefit of Canadians.

"The Infrastructure Canada-Alberta partnership is a reflection of our shared commitment to building a more dynamic economy, and improving quality of life for Canadians in all parts of Canada," said Madame Robillard.

Minister Stelmach said "Working cooperatively with our federal and municipal partners, this new agreement will help to ensure adequate infrastructure for today and in the future. Together, we are helping Alberta communities prepare for future development and prosperity. We've listened to Albertans and this new agreement is a positive and practical response to requests for such a program. The Government of Alberta is committed to addressing the province's infrastructure needs. This funding agreement is a welcome addition to the $1.7 billion in new infrastructure spending that the provincial government has announced in the last year."

The program's first priority in Alberta, as in the rest of Canada, is green municipal infrastructure.

Secondary priorities for the Infrastructure Canada-Alberta program include local transportation, cultural and recreational facilities, infrastructure supporting tourism, rural and remote telecommunications, high-speed Internet access for local public institutions and affordable housing.

Minister McLellan said Infrastructure Canada has taken a "bottom-up" approach from the beginning, and will continue to do so: "Municipalities know their needs best. The vast majority of projects funded through this agreement will be suggested by the municipalities themselves."

The Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) have been consulted in the development of the new program. Representatives of the two organizations will sit on the joint federal-provincial Management Committee to ensure municipal input continues through the life of the program.

With the signing of the agreement, Western Economic Diversification (WD) takes responsibility for the implementation of Infrastructure Canada in Alberta, under the direction of implementing Minister Ronald J. Duhamel, Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification and Francophonie.

The Management Committee, co-chaired by Alberta Infrastructure and WD will be finalizing project guidelines and working arrangements over the next few weeks. Program guidelines will be sent out to local government by November 30 of this year, and formal project applications will be accepted after January 1, 2001.

As part of its commitment to undertake initiatives that make a long-term contribution to a dynamic economy, the federal government has allocated $2.65 billion for its share of a new, cost-shared physical infrastructure program. Infrastructure Canada deals with municipal infrastructure. A strategic highways component, with funding of up to $600 million of the total allocation, is administered by Transport Canada.

Through the Infrastructure Canada partnership, federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments will invest a total of $6 billion in municipal infrastructure in urban and rural communities across Canada.

For additional information, contact:

Chantal Scarlett
Media Relations
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
(613) 957-2391

Gordon Eckert
Senior Advisor, Communications
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Edmonton, Alberta
(780) 495-3370

Russell Milon
Press Secretary
Office of the President of theTreasury Board of Canada and Minister Responsible for Infrastructure
(613) 957-2666

Cheryl Mackenzie
Assistant Director, Public Affairs
Alberta Infrastructure
Edmonton, Alberta
(780) 427-7674
(In Alberta, dial 310-000 for toll-free connection outside of Edmonton)