FRANCAIS

April 03, 2003

WINNIPEG (Manitoba), April 3, 2003 - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer today announced that their governments would each contribute $80 million towards the expansion of the Manitoba Red River Floodway. This is the largest federal-provincial infrastructure investment partnership in Manitoba since the construction of the floodway.

The City of Winnipeg also confirmed its commitment over the next five years to funding municipal flood protection improvements that support flood control and diversion works.

"History has taught us the importance of doing everything we can to protect the citizens of Winnipeg and the Red River Valley from the danger of flooding. The Governments of Canada and Manitoba agree the expansion of the Red River Floodway is their top joint infrastructure priority in this province," said Prime Minister Chrétien. "This project will provide greater safety for residents, as well as significant economic benefits for Manitoba."

"This is one of the largest capital projects in Manitoba history. It will provide the City of Winnipeg and capital region with greater flood protection, safeguarding families and our economy from the devastation of floods like the one we experienced in 1997," said Premier Doer. "Today’s announcement supports the first phase of the project and when the expansion of the Floodway is complete, it will fulfill the recommendations of the International Joint Commission."

"I applaud both the federal and Manitoba governments for their leadership in the Red River Floodway Expansion project," said Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray. "The City of Winnipeg is improving and upgrading flood protection infrastructure to complement the Floodway expansion as part of the overall flood-protection strategy for the region."

The investments announced today build on the International Joint Commission’s recommendations included in the Living with the Red Report, published following the 1997 flood. The report called for the highest flood protection that can be economically justified or at least sufficient protection to deal with an event similar to the 1826 flood.

Prime Minister Chrétien and Premier Doer stated that Governments of Canada and Manitoba are committed to support completion of the expanded floodway over the next several years. The cost of completing the full project is estimated at $660 million. When fully completed, it will offer protection from a flood with a 1 in 700 years probability of occurrence. Work on the entire expanded floodway project is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits for the Province of Manitoba and for the rest of Canada.

Today’s joint investment in the Red River Floodway expansion is consistent with the objectives of the Government of Canada and provincial/territorial jurisdictions in the development of a National Disaster Mitigation Strategy which aims at reducing, through mitigation, the personal, social, economic and environmental impacts of disasters in Canada.

Since 1997, the Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba have jointly invested $130 million in flood protection, $110 million of which has been invested in flood protection for rural residents of the Red River Valley. With today’s investments, the Governments of Canada and Manitoba have invested a total of $290 million to improve flood protection for the City of Winnipeg and the Red River Basin. Both governments have held public consultations to determine the causes and mitigation measures that need to be adopted to increase flood protection in the area.

The Government of Canada’s $80-million contribution will come from the $2-billion Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, through which it is working with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with the private sector, to respond to strategic infrastructure needs throughout the country. These investments are directed to large-scale projects of major national and regional significance, in areas that are vital to sustaining economic growth and supporting an enhanced quality of life for Canadians.

In the Speech from the Throne of September 30, 2002, the Government of Canada committed to an additional 10-year involvement in public infrastructure. The federal Budget 2003 reaffirmed this long-term commitment and provided an additional $3 billion for strategic and municipal infrastructure. In combination with the $5,25 billion in infrastructure programs announced in Budget 2000 and 2001, this brings the Government of Canada’s recent investment in the nation’s infrastructure to over $8 billion.

Today’s announcements bring the Government of Canada’s investment in Manitoba’s infrastructure since 1994 to nearly $450 million. For more information on Infrastructure Canada and its programs, please visit: http://www.infrastructurecanada.gc.ca.

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