Belleville Mayor Taso Christopher speaks to reporters about the conflict of interest decision, June 10, 2017 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Belleville Mayor Taso Christopher updated local media on the city’s discussions at the AMO conference in Ottawa this week, which centred on infrastructure, active transportation and the process of how municipalities receive funding from the province.
One of the city’s delegations was with Minister of Transportation Stephen Del Duca, who gave them a bit of an update on plans to widen Highway 401 through the city.
Christopher says that idea has been gaining traction in recent years and is now moving forward, with an environmental assessment now underway.
The city delegation also had positive discussions on active transportation.
Last year the city applied for just under $3 million worth of active transportation funding, but didn’t get any and this year Belleville is elegible for about $5 million of close to $7 million requested, since the province is already committing more money to those projects.
Councillor Edgerton Boyce was part of the delegation and says they may not get the full $5 million ask, but Transportation Minister Stephen Del Duca was extremely impressed with how prepared the city is, which could lead to a chunk of funding.
Belleville’s delegation was also updated on plans to increase Via Rail service through the Quebec-to-Windsor corridor, which would naturally affect the city in a big way.
Councillor Egerton Boyce was part of the group who listened to a presentation from Via President Yves Desjardins-Siciliano and says the plan would mean easier access for people in Belleville, to other parts of the province, including events in Toronto.
Via is looking for up to $6 billion from the federal government to make track and train upgrades and increase the number of trips across the province.
Meanwhile, there was also lots of discussion on the provincial funding process itself, with the mayor saying many municipalities are in favour of moving to a formula-based process, rather than the current application-based system.
Christopher says the change would make it easier for municipalities to plan ahead and would speed up the process, so municipalities don’t have to sit and wait for applications to be approved.
Overall, Christopher says the city’s ideas and thoughts were well received and provincial ministers and staff seem to be impressed with the fact that Belleville is planning ahead and getting projects shovel-ready, before they ask for cash.
