The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry has released their Northern Ontario Resource Development Fund (NORDF).
The fund will provide $15 million annually over the next five years to northern Ontario municipalities to support investments in local infrastructure.
Minister of NDMNRF, Greg Rickford, said in an interview that the funds were well received by municipalities across the province.
“This is a fund that recognizes that towns and cities across the region take a hit or have some impact on their infrastructure small and larger-scale projects. Very well recieved” said Rickford.
“It’s not going to pay for the whole project, but it is intended to be a top-up for some of those projects on infrastructure that just take a beating because of forestry or mining activities,” Rickford added
Rickford also added municipalities don’t have to use the money each year.
“The nice features are that it’s simple, you can save it, and you can stack it. The three S’s”
In total the Kenora-Rainy River riding will receive around $7.5 million over the next five years.
Below are the allocated fund amounts to municipalities in the area:
Kenora - $322,292
Dryden - $179,455
Sioux Lookout - $140,608
Red Lake - $129,859
Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls - $97,757
Machin - $74,636
Ear Falls - $70,163
Municipalities can make their pitch to the province on December 7, 2021.
Funding for year one will be distributed to eligible municipalities by March 31, 2022.