The federal government will contribute $7.9 million to two dozen community infrastructure projects in Toronto, including 11 at city owned and operated facilities.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains announced the funding at a news conference at the Etobicoke Olympium on Friday morning, noting that the money will help improve already “treasured community spaces.”
The funding will be used to install a new boiler system at the Etobicoke Olympium at a cost of $660,000 and make other upgrades to parks, playgrounds and recreation centres in other parts of the city.
Speaking with reporters at the news conference, Mayor Tory said some of the improvements may not be “easily seen” but are nonetheless vital projects for users of the facilities.
Tory said the projects receiving funding also tend to be located neighbourhoods where there isn’t necessarily a lot of community infrastructure.
“This will have a fundamentally important impact in making Toronto livable and making it stronger and safe,” he said. “If you look at the list we are investigating in playgrounds and recreation centres in places where those facilities are even more important to the lives of the people who live in those neighhbourhoods than they might be elsewhere.”
The city-owned facilities will received $2.6 million of the overall federal investment, which in turn will be paired with $5.3 million funding from the City of Toronto.
The other projects receiving funding are all operated by non-profit entities in the city, Bains said.
“This really reflects our commitment to the City of Toronto,” he said. “Improvements to these treasured community spaces will allow Torontonians to parks and recreation centres for years to come.”
