KINKORA, P.E.I. - Looking over his community’s wastewater lagoon, Coun. Robert Duffy breathes a sigh of relief.
The community of Kinkora has spent millions of dollars over the past number of years to improve its sewage and wastewater treatment systems.
It all works just fine now, but a few years back the system was looking dicey.
“It was major for the community. We had residents having sewer blocks four or five times a year that the community had to pay for. We didn’t have the money to upgrade the system,” said Duffy.
Kinkora, which only has 339 residents, was able to afford to pay for the improvements thanks to funding from the federal and provincial governments.
“Without tapping into that infrastructure money, the project wouldn’t have been able to go ahead,” he said.
Duffy recently gave a tour and overview of the community’s wastewater improvements to Malpeque MP Wayne Easter and federal Infrastructure Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
Champagne and Easter were on the Island to announce a new $366 million infrastructure fund for P.E.I., to run over a 10-year period. Projects that receive funding under this program will be cost-shared by the municipality, province and federal government.
Champagne said this latest round of infrastructure funding is intended to be directed from the bottom up, with smaller communities, like Kinkora, identifying their needs and applying for the funding.
“A small amount in a small community can have a big impact,” he said.
“My focus is on impact. Today, this (waste water project) has a great impact. We heard this helps bring young families here, allowing for seniors to stay where they want and we’re going to continue to work with the province on that.”
Duffy said the community already has some priorities it intends to apply to the new program for, including a new subdivision it hopes to develop.
