Province gives infrastructure funds to two local municipalities

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

SCUGOG: The Ontario provincial government is providing funding to two Durham municipalities, through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF). On Friday, January 29th, MPP Lindsey Park announced these two Durham municipalities will receive over $2.2 million to address local infrastructure issues. The Township of Scugog will get $375,689 and Clarington will receive over $1.8 million. “This stable and reliable funding for smaller municipalities, like Scugog and Clarington, helps to sustain the municipal infrastructure we all rely on every day,” MPP Park said, in a statement. “This funding will help build and repair our roads and bridges, as well as water and wastewater infrastructure.” In a press release, Scugog Mayor Bobbie Drew expressed her gratefulness for this funding. “We thank the province for our OCIF funding,” she explained. “As a small rural municipality, we rely on these funds and this will be allocated to our capital area for roads and infrastructure projects.” According to the press release, the OCIF is meant to provide “stable and predictable funding for communities with populations under 100,000, along with all rural and northern communities.”