Residents of two West Prince communities are benefitting from the development of a new well field for Tignish and improved road infrastructure, thanks to investments made under the Building Canada Fund and Build PEI.
The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, and the Honourable Ron MacKinley, PEI Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, visited the completed projects.
“Our government is proud to invest in infrastructure projects that create jobs and enhance the quality of life for Islanders,” said Minister Shea. “We are pleased to partner with our Provincial and Municipal counterparts to improve infrastructure in our rural communities.”
The two communities, Tignish and Alberton, are among the many rural communities across PEI to have received funding from the BCF-CC infrastructure program. The Communities Component focuses on projects in communities with populations of less than 100,000 – helping these smaller communities face their unique challenges.
“These two projects will provide direct benefits to residents in these two communities,” says Minister MacKinley. “These two projects also confirm this government’s commitment to the development of rural communities through our Rural Action Plan.”
The Government of Canada, through the Building Canada Fund, the Province of PEI, through its Build PEI initiative, and the town of Alberton shared the cost of the street improvement project worth $210,000. The project provided new storm sewers and new paving on three local streets.
“This was a very important project for the Town,” says Alberton Mayor Michael Murphy. “The street improvements allowed for better water drainage and flood control and it also improved the look of the streetscape which can be beneficial for tourism and for local residents.”
The project in Tignish identified a suitable location for a new well field. The Government of Canada, the Province of PEI, the Community of Tignish and funding from the Canada-Prince Edward Island Gas Tax Agreement collectively funded the $93,500 project which will lead to the eventual development of a new well field to serve the future growth of the community.
“This will give our community access to a second safe source of drinking water,” says Tignish Community Chair Gerard LeClair. “We have an existing well field, but a second site will give us another source in case of an emergency or, if the need arises, to expand our water services within Tignish.”
For more information on the Building Canada plan, visit http://www.buildingcanada.gc.ca or http://www.gov.pe.ca/go/infrastructure.