Reports on Plans and Priorities
2015-16 - Supplementary Information Table: Horizontal Initiatives

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
• Western Economic Diversification.
• Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada/Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).
• Transport Canada.

The Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF), which received funding in the 2001, 2003 and 2006 federal budgets, is a cost-shared contribution program for strategic infrastructure projects. To date, funding has been approved to support 83 projects.

Investments are directed to projects of major national and regional significance and are to be made in areas that are vital to sustaining economic growth and supporting an enhanced quality of life for Canadians. The CSIF is delivered through negotiated agreements with provincial, territorial or local governments, private partners or non-governmental organizations. Contribution agreements are tailored based on the project requirements.

The Canada Strategic Infrastructure Act outlines the prime categories of investments in projects that involve fixed capital assets that are used or operated for the benefit of the public. The categories eligible under the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund are:

• Highway and Rail Infrastructure;
• Local Transportation Infrastructure;
• Tourism or Urban Development Infrastructure;
• Water or Sewage Infrastructure; and
• Other categories approved by regulation, e.g. Advanced Telecommunications and High-Speed Broadband, Northern Infrastructure.

The overall planned results Infrastructure Canada expects to achieve through CSIF are to invest in projects which:

• facilitate the movement of goods and people on Canada's National Highway System for the purposes of increasing the productivity, economic efficiency, and safety of Canada's surface transportation system;
• facilitate the safe and efficient movement of goods and people, ease congestion, or reduce greenhouse gases and airborne pollutants;
• ensure that tourism continues to contribute to the economic well-being of Canadians and to serve as a bridge between Canada and the world;
• ensure that drinking water is safe, clean and reliable at drinking water facilities, and ensure sustainable treatment of wastewater; and
• expand broadband networks in Canada.

All CSIF projects are selected under the authority of the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to selecting projects, the Minister consults other Ministers who have an interest in the region or in the substantive project area. After project selection, Treasury Board approval is sought for each project contribution. At the same time, incremental operating funds required for project oversight and management by the implementing departments/agencies are identified in the Treasury Board submission.

The fund is delivered in partnership involving primarily three sets of key collaborators:

• Infrastructure Canada: As the coordinating and funding agent for the contribution, Infrastructure Canada is responsible for project review, selection, approval, public announcements, environmental assessment in some cases, and program evaluation. It leads the negotiation of contribution agreements with each of the funding recipients, except for transportation projects where Transport Canada is the lead. Infrastructure Canada (or Transport Canada, for transportation projects) develops, in coordination with the implementing department/agency, the submission to Treasury Board for the approval of funds. Infrastructure Canada is also responsible for the overall management of program funding, for seeking appropriation of funds from Parliament through Contribution Votes and for transferring funds to the federal delivery partners. To monitor activities and milestones throughout the project life cycle, an Infrastructure Canada representative will usually sit on the project's Agreement Steering Committee.
• A federal delivery partner: Infrastructure Canada's relationship with each federal delivery partner varies with the capacity and the complexity of the project. Umbrella Memoranda of Understanding govern the relationship between Infrastructure Canada and each federal delivery partner for the implementation of CSIF projects. Responsibilities may however also be negotiated specifically for each project. The federal delivery partner may provide technical assistance in the analysis of the business case, determining the costs and benefits to be realized, and providing advice on the development of the contribution agreement and Treasury Board submission. Except for broadband projects where Infrastructure Canada retains all responsibilities for the implementation of the project, the federal delivery partner will support implementation of CSIF projects in a manner that upholds federal due diligence in such areas as overseeing the implementation of mitigation measures identified in the environmental assessment, assessing the eligibility and reasonability of project costs, providing information pertaining to cash flow and budget, approving claims, making payments, and conducting audits and evaluation of projects. The federal delivery partner normally serves as the federal co-chair of the project's Agreement Steering Committee. The federal delivery partner also ensures adherence to information management requirements, including the use of the Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure, which captures, monitors and reports on project information. The federal delivery partner also provides communication support.
• The funding recipient: The recipient may be a provincial, territorial, or local government, a private partner, a non-government organization, or a combination thereof. Once the project has been selected, Infrastructure Canada or Transport Canada leads the negotiations to develop a contribution agreement. The funding recipient is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed as per the Terms and Conditions of the Contribution Agreement.

• Overseeing the implementation of project-specific agreements, in collaboration with partners as appropriate, ensuring that the terms of these agreements are respected and that claims are processed efficiently;
• Collaborating with partners to complete amendments to individual project funding agreements, allowing sufficient time for recipients to complete all projects; and
• Overseeing project completion and close-out while adhering to consistent monitoring and reviewing procedures.

• Transport Canada.

The Border Infrastructure Fund (BIF), which was announced in Budget 2001, is a cost-shared contribution program. It complements some of the Government of Canada's other infrastructure programs such as the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program, a Transport Canada program.

As part of "Canada's commitment to address land border pressures, such as traffic congestion, and to continue to facilitate the large volume of trade across the Canada-United States border", BIF contributions are directed at or on routes leading to Canada's border crossings, with a particular focus on the six largest:

• Windsor, Ontario;
• Sarnia, Ontario;
• Fort Erie, Ontario;
• Niagara Falls, Ontario;
• Douglas, British Columbia; and
• Lacolle, Quebec.

The fund also directs some funding towards smaller and regionally important border crossings throughout Canada. Once completed, projects supported under BIF will help to alleviate traffic congestion, increase system capacity and further the Smart Border Declaration, a Canada-US Declaration - North American Partnerships.ⁱⁱ

The overall planned results expected to be achieved through BIF are investments in projects that contribute to safe and efficient border crossings. Expected outcomes are to alleviate border congestion and increase border crossing capacity and to increase security and safety at border crossings, leading to cross border trade efficiencies.

All BIF projects are selected under the authority of the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to selecting projects, the Minister consults with other Ministers who have an interest in the region or in the substantive project area. After project selection, public announcements are made by the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. Treasury Board approval is sought for each contribution. At the same time, incremental operating funds required for project oversight and management by Transport Canada are identified and sought in the Treasury Board submission.

The fund is delivered in partnership involving primarily three sets of key collaborators:

• Infrastructure Canada: As the coordinating and funding agent for the contribution, Infrastructure Canada is responsible for project review, selection, approval, public announcements, environmental assessment (in some cases) and program evaluation. It also develops, in coordination with the implementing department/agency, the submission to Treasury Board for the approval of funds. Infrastructure Canada is also responsible for the overall management of program funding, for seeking appropriation of funds from Parliament through the Contribution Votes and for transferring funds to Transport Canada.
• Transport Canada: An umbrella Memorandum of Understanding governs the relationship between Infrastructure Canada and Transport Canada for the implementation of BIF projects. Transport Canada may provide technical assistance in the analysis of the business case, determining the costs and benefits to be realized, and leads the development of the contribution agreement and Treasury Board submission. Transport Canada will support implementation of BIF projects in a manner that upholds federal due diligence in such areas as overseeing the implementation of mitigation measures identified in the environmental assessment, assessing the eligibility and reasonability of project costs, providing information pertaining to cash flow and budget, approving claims, making payments, and conducting audits and evaluation of projects. Transport Canada serves as the federal co-chair of the project's Agreement Steering Committee. Transport Canada also ensures adherence to information management requirements, including the use of the Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure, which captures, monitors and reports on project information.
• The funding recipient: The recipient may be a provincial, territorial, or local government, a private partner, a non-government organization, or a combination thereof. Once the project has been selected, Transport Canada leads the negotiations to develop a contribution agreement. The recipient is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed as per the Terms and Conditions of the Contribution Agreement.

As funding under the Border Infrastructure Fund is entirely committed to projects, the Department will focus primarily on continuing to monitor the final three projects under the Border Infrastructure Fund in partnership with Transport Canada.

• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
• Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.
• Western Economic Diversification.
• Industry Canada/Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
• Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada/Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor).
• Transport Canada.

The Building Canada Fund focuses on projects that deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits to Canadians.

The national priorities for funding are the core national highway system, drinking water, wastewater, public transit and green energy. Other eligible categories include projects that support economic growth and development (short-line rail and short-sea shipping, connectivity and broadband, tourism and regional and local airports), environmental projects (solid waste management and brownfield re-development), as well as projects that contribute to the ongoing development of safe and strong communities (disaster mitigation, culture, sport, recreation and local roads and bridges). Funding is used to support public infrastructure owned by provincial, territorial and municipal governments and entities, as well as the non-profit sector and private industry, in certain cases.

Funding is allocated for projects in the various provinces and territories based on their population (as of the 2006 Census). In the provinces, the program operates through two components: the Major Infrastructure Component and the Communities Component. In the territories, in recognition of their very low per capita allocations, their funding under the Building Canada Fund has been rolled into the Provincial-Territorial Base Funding Program and is managed under the terms of this latter program in each territory.

The Major Infrastructure Component (BCF-MIC) targets larger, strategic projects of national or regional significance. Under this component, at least two-thirds of national funding is to be directed to the above-mentioned national priorities. Projects under the Major Infrastructure Component are selected jointly through federal-provincial/territorial discussions with all projects required to meet minimum federal eligibility criteria.

The Building Canada Fund-Communities Component (BCF-CC) is focused on projects in communities with populations of less than 100,000. Projects are selected through an application-based process and, like projects under the Major Infrastructure Component, are evaluated on the extent to which they meet minimum federal eligibility criteria. This will significantly help smaller communities to address their infrastructure pressures, and serve as a complementary instrument to the Gas Tax Fund.

More information on the Building Canada Fundⁱⁱⁱ can be found on the program's page.

i. Major Infrastructure Component of the Building Canada Fund:

All BCF-MIC projects are selected under the authority of the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, and priorities are identified through discussions with provinces. Prior to selecting projects, the Minister consults other Ministers who have an interest in the region or in the substantive project area. Following due diligence, the Minister can approve projects under all project categories under the BCF delegated threshold ($100 million federal share). Treasury Board approval is required for contributions to any projects above the delegated threshold (i.e. $100 million federal contribution) or that require exemptions to program terms and conditions. At the same time, should they be required for transportation projects, incremental operating funds required for project oversight and management by Transport Canada are identified and sought in the Treasury Board submission.

BCF-MIC is delivered in partnership involving primarily three sets of key collaborators:

• Infrastructure Canada: As the coordinating and funding agent for the contribution, Infrastructure Canada is responsible for assessing potential priorities, undertaking the detailed review of identified priorities against program terms and conditions, and recommending projects for approval-in-principle to the Minister, Infrastructure Canada is also responsible for public announcements, environmental assessment in some cases, and program evaluation. For non-transportation projects, in addition to the above, Infrastructure Canada is responsible for the preparation of Treasury Board submissions (where required), the negotiation of contribution agreements with each of the funding recipients, and the oversight of these agreements. To monitor activities and milestones throughout the project life cycle, an Infrastructure Canada representative sits on the project's Agreement Steering Committee. Infrastructure Canada oversees the implementation of mitigation measures identified in the environmental assessment, assesses the eligibility and reasonability of project costs, monitors information pertaining to cash flow and budget, approves claims, make payments, and conducts audits and evaluations of the projects. Infrastructure Canada will use Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure to capture, monitor and report project information.
• Transport Canada: For transportation projects, Transport Canada drafts a project review/due diligence for Infrastructure Canada's review (except Public Transit Infrastructure projects, where Infrastructure Canada is solely responsible for transit projects), prepares any required Treasury Board submissions, and leads the negotiations of contribution agreements. Transport Canada monitors activities and milestones throughout the project life cycle, and nominates federal representatives to sit on projects' Agreement Steering Committees. Transport Canada oversees the implementation of mitigation measures identified in the environmental assessment, assesses the eligibility and reasonability of project costs, monitors information pertaining to cash flow and budget, approves claims, makes payments, and conducts audits and evaluations of the projects. Transport Canada will also ensure adherence to Infrastructure Canada's information management requirements, including the use of Infrastructure Canada's Shared Information Management System for Infrastructure, which captures, monitors and reports project information. Transport Canada also provides communication support to Infrastructure Canada.
• The funding recipient: The recipient may be a provincial, territorial, or local government, a private partner, a non-government organization or a combination thereof. The recipient is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed as per the Terms and Conditions of the Contribution Agreement, and is also responsible for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the asset.

ii. Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund:

BCF-CC is governed by separate federal-provincial contribution agreements, each of which is managed by an Oversight Committee established by the Infrastructure Framework Committee that includes both federal and provincial senior officials. To support the operation of the Communities Component and Oversight Committees, each jurisdiction has a federal-provincial Joint Secretariat staffed by Federal Delivery Partners and provincial officials.

All project applications under BCF-CC are subject to a competitive application-based process. This process is administered by the Joint Secretariat, but a material role for the respective provincial municipal association (for those provinces that have municipal associations) may also have been established as part of the application review process. Allowing some implementation flexibility to the Joint Secretariats and Oversight Committees, all competitive processes issue calls for applications (either one open window for applications or multiple shorter windows with set closing dates). Some provinces may limit the number of applications per community within and/or across all intakes.

Joint Secretariats provide the first level of due diligence, including engineering, environmental, and legal review of the applications, and prepare briefing material for the Oversight Committees. The Oversight Committees review and rank the application against the mandatory and additional leveraging criteria established in the Policy Leveraging Framework of the Building Canada Fund. The Oversight Committee presents the recommended list of projects to the Minister or the Federal Delivery Partner Minister for consideration, in accordance with the delegations of authority. After consulting with other Ministers who have a mandate in the substantive project area, the Minister or the Federal Delivery Partner Minister provide feedback on the list of projects to the Oversight Committee. The Oversight Committee then performs a final review of the list and makes a recommendation to the appropriate Minister, in accordance with the delegations of authority. Federal funding for projects is announced once final approval has been granted in writing.

The Framework Agreements stipulate that individual federal-provincial contribution agreements govern the Communities Component in each province, and that these agreements are managed by an Oversight Committee, established under the Infrastructure Framework Committee. Each Oversight Committee includes both federal and provincial senior officials and may also include representatives from provincial municipal associations (where applicable). The federal co-chair of the Oversight Committee is a senior official from Infrastructure Canada appointed by the Minister.

In the federal-provincial contribution agreement, the parties agreed to establish a Joint Secretariat to support the Oversight Committee and administer BCF-CC. This secretariat is staffed by officials from the provincial government and the Federal Delivery Partner.

Under BCF-MIC:

In order to provide funding for quality, cost-effective public infrastructure that contributes to a competitive economy, cleaner environment and livable communities by targeting larger infrastructure projects of national or regional significance, key planning highlights under the Building Canada Fund-Major Infrastructure Component include:

• Continuing to complete due diligence and sign project-specific contribution agreements for major infrastructure projects announced as funding priorities under the 2007 Building Canada Fund;
• Collaborating with partners to complete amendments to individual project funding agreements, to allow sufficient time for recipients to complete all projects; and
• Continuing to oversee the implementation of project-specific agreements, ensuring that the terms of these agreements are respected, that claims for payment are processed efficiently and that close-out of projects is completed.

Under BCF-CC:

In order to provide funding for local projects in small communities of less than 100,000 people, key planning highlights for 2015-2016 under the Building Canada Fund-Communities Component (BCF-CC) include:

• Working with Federal Delivery Partners and provinces to oversee the implementation of agreements, ensuring that the terms of these agreements are respected, that claims of payment are processed efficiently, and that projects progress and are completed in compliance with agreement conditions. As the BCF-CC is beginning to wind down, the Department will focus primarily on completing requirements for project closure, monitoring ongoing projects and preparing for program close-out.