The Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) announced a federal investment of $1.68 million to help 18 Ontario communities, eight in New Brunswick and 14 in Newfoundland and Labrador, to put in place innovative asset management strategies.
Asset management helps communities manage municipal infrastructure assets such as roads, arenas, bridges, drinking water and wastewater systems to ensure maximum performance and make better investment decisions. Asset management also helps reduce risks so municipalities can provide reliable and affordable services and a high quality of life to their residents.
“From roads and bridges to buildings and wastewater systems, local governments own approximately 60 per cent of the public infrastructure that supports our economy and our quality of life,” said Scott Pearce, Acting President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “That’s why it is so crucial to support them in building and maintaining strong asset management through initiatives like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Municipal Asset Management Program. Funded by the Government of Canada, it helps communities in Ontario and across the country develop sound asset management practices and conduct data collection and analysis to improve their investment decisions,”
Ontario ($800,000)
This funding will help strengthen data-driven decision-making on key infrastructure and ensure long-term infrastructure performance. Among the recipients:
- The County of Norfolk receives $50,000 to assess the condition of the County’s facilities’ building components, including detailed information collection on each individual building component and their expected useful lives. The information gathered will be entered into the County’s asset management software and will guide long-term asset management plans.
- The City of Toronto receives $50,000 to develop a Fine Art Asset Management best practice guide for the Toronto History Museums (THM) through a digital inventory of the City of Toronto’s Fine Art Collection. This project will build best practices reference materials through capturing visual images and comprehensive records of the Fine Art Collection, standardizing asset information, risk assessment, evaluation and appraisal records, and database maintenance.
- The City of Niagara Falls receives $50,000 to undertake condition assessment activities at 22 of the City’s stormwater management ponds and to use the results to build a multi-year operating and capital budget forecast. The planned work and schedule will allow the City to inform the budget and forecast and provide the City with a solid baseline to develop its asset management plan for its stormwater management assets.
“The funding announced today will help strengthen asset management practices in 18 communities across Ontario. These investments will help these municipalities to plan their infrastructure needs based on strengthened and reliable data, and will help communities manage the infrastructure that residents rely on every day, creating strong communities today and for generations to come,” said Jennifer O’Connell, MP for Pickering-Uxbridge and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.
Newfoundland and Labrador ($500,000)
This funding will help strengthen data-driven decision-making on key infrastructure and ensure long-term infrastructure performance. Among the recipients:
- The Town of LaScie receives $50,000 to create an asset register for fixed infrastructure assets utilizing a geographical information system, to prioritize its asset register in terms of consequence of failure and probability of failure, for capital and policy planning, and for a workshop for both Council and staff.
- The Municipality of Trinity Bay North receives $47,440 to compile a complete inventory of its major assets including linear assets, buildings and structures and fleet. Renewal and replacement projects will be prioritized through a risk assessment process involving Council and staff to support a preliminary capital program. Council and staff will also participate in a training session.
- The Town of Centreville-Wareham-Trinity receives $45,640 to develop an asset register for fixed infrastructure assets utilizing a geographical information system and associated database, to prioritize the asset register in terms of consequence of failure and probability of failure, to develop a capital plan and asset management policy document and for a workshop for both Council and staff.
“Funding in infrastructure asset management projects help improve the quality of life in our communities here in Newfoundland and Labrador. With this investment, we are ensuring our communities such as the Town of LaScie, the Municipality of Trinity Bay North, and the Town of Centreville-Wareham-Trinity have the technology and resources they need to manage their assets more efficiently and build stronger communities,” Said Churence Rogers, MP for Bonavista-Burin-Trinity.
New Brunswick ($350,000)
This funding will help strengthen data-driven decision-making on key infrastructure and ensure long-term infrastructure performance. Among the recipients:
- Building upon its first formal asset management plan funded by FCM, the Town of Saint Andrews receives $50,000 to improve the quality of its record data and condition assessment data by doing a condition assessment of the roads, trails, and wharf.
- The Village of Saint-Antoine receives $50,000 to improve and to continue developing its asset management plan. The Village will review its risk assessment to include the impact of climate change, will develop adaptation or mitigation measures for high-risk assets, and will perform lifecycle asset assessments to outline detailed asset investment requirements. The Village will also elaborate a strategy to manage financial shortcomings and will generate 5- and 10-year expenditure plans for priority assets and future projects.
- The Village of New Maryland receives $50,000 to implement ArcGIS Online, receive training and develop mobile applications for collecting inventory and assess the condition of critical infrastructure. The Village will also create a condition assessment strategy and policy, and conduct stakeholder and community engagement.
“Our government is working with local partners to implement the training and information gathering needed to manage assets more effectively, which helps build stronger communities. With these investments, municipalities will be better equipped to properly maintain the infrastructure that supports New Brunswickers in their daily activities,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.
Featured image: The City of Toronto is one of 18 Ontario communities receiving funding to put in place innovative asset management strategies.
