The province has denied Mattawa funding for water infrastructure; however, the town is applying again. On a brighter note, the municipality was successful in its application for Connecting Links money.
Every bit helps, Mattawa’s mayor Raymond Bélanger noted – “We need their help and that’s why we keep knocking at their door.” Competition for provincial grants is steep, and part of the problem, Mayor Bélanger noted, “Is we’re in Northern Ontario, and we’re small.”
Mattawa has recently expressed concerns about the rising costs the municipality must bear. Paying for external services, like the OPP and Cassellholme, continues to increase. Applying for provincial funds helps temper these costs and keep more money in the town’s coffers for capital projects.
As Mattawa’s Chief Administrative Officer Paul Laperriere noted in a report to council, “The Town of Mattawa endeavours to take advantage of such funds when they become available.”
See: ‘Ludicrous,’ Mattawa’s CAO says of OPP service increase
Recently, municipal staff submitted a funding application to the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure (MOI) under the Housing-Enabling Water System Fund (HEWSF). The town asked for $11 million and was declined.
The town applied again, as the province added another $250 million to the HEWSF funding pool. Mattawa reduced its request to $5 million during this second round, but this too was declined.
However, it’s not over yet. The province has introduced another funding program, the “Health and Safety Water Stream.” There is $175 million in this fund, available to municipalities to help cover upgrades and repairs to water treatment plants, reservoirs, watermains, service lines, pump and lift stations, storage tanks, and lagoons.
Mattawa is getting its ducks in a row, preparing to pounce on this opportunity. Staff will work with Jp2g – a consulting firm based in Ottawa – to put together a submission proposal.
As for the brighter note, the town was successful in its application to the Connecting Links Program. Again, with help from Jp2g, the town put together a proposal to perform a detailed structural review of the Pont Mauril Bélanger Bridge.
The town estimated the costs would run to $381,600, and the province is going to contribute $343,440 to the cause. Also, in 2023, Mattawa received $304,972 from Connecting Links for a Detailed Engineering Design and Environmental Assessment of Main Street.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.