?Most of the City?s Shovel Ready Projects are small or medium-sized projects that focus on the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure,? said Councillor Tony Carella, Chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which made the recommendation to Council.  ?However, they are projects that will create jobs and stimulate the local economy.? 

Shovel Ready Projects are defined by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as projects that do not appear in a municipality?s 2009 funded capital budget, but which could be started in 2009 with additional funding. In its January 27 budget, the Federal Government listed four programs that could be available to the City of Vaughan: Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, Green Infrastructure Fund, Recreational Infrastructure Canada, and Sectoral Competitiveness. If  projects are approved under any of the programs, they will be co-funded by a one-third grant from both the federal and provincial governments, and a one-third share funded by the municipality.

?The City of Vaughan fully supports the idea of stimulating the economy by accelerating infrastructure spending in municipalities,? said Mayor Linda Jackson. ?These projects will improve the quality of life in our City and benefit the environment. We are ready to move on them as soon as we receive the necessary funding from other levels of government.?

The City?s list of Shovel Ready Projects includes a number of pavement improvement projects, improvements and upgrades to recreation infrastructure, and green infrastructure which includes the conversion to energy-efficient streetlighting.

For more information about Shovel Ready Projects > click here (14.53 KB)