Canada 150 CIP: Who Can Get a Grant?
By Sara Golling
Monday night’s Council meeting opened with the Council chamber packed and overflowing with hopeful Rosslanders keen to support their favorite idea to improve Rossland, and Mayor Kathy Moore welcomed everyone. Many spoke passionately in support of developing the (former) Emcon lot into a community facility; Ann Damude made a plea for Council to consider the Miners Union Hall renovation project and suggested that it better meets the eligibility criteria; no one (so far) spoke about the Rossland Public Library Renewal Project, or the Museum Renovation Project.
Discussion deferred:
Moore explained that Council would defer discussion of the Canada 150 grant application to a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of Council on Monday, June 1, to allow time for consideration of the options. Councillor Aaron Cosbey clarified that the skatepark is not an eligible project; the grants will not fund construction of any new facility .
What are the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program grants?
From the federal government website: “Under the theme “Giving Back to Canada”, the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program will invest $150 million over two years to support projects that will rehabilitate existing community facilities across Canada, and ensure a lasting legacy resulting from Canada 150.”
What projects are eligible?
Some of the key points are:
· the project must be to rehabilitate, renovate, or expand existing community infrastructure;
· the project must be materially complete by March 31, 2018;
· a grant cannot cover more than half the total costs of the project, up to a maximum of $500,000;
· a grant will cover costs incurred and paid from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2018;
· eligible applicants include local governments, and not-for-profit entities.
For assessment, appllications will be divided into two groups: those for amounts under $250,000, and those from $250,000 to $500,000.
For more detailed information on the grants and eligibility for them, click here. And, if you have time, give some thought to the eligible project you think would most benefit Rossland in the long term, and why.
