Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the members of the committee for their work during the last session. In a portfolio as important and as diverse as this, cooperation is key as we take action on issues that matter to Canadians. Guided by our economic action plan, our government has made significant investments in this portfolio in the transportation mode and the vital infrastructure area of the country.
In Transport, we've made significant investments in all areas related to safety, security, the environment, and trade and infrastructure.
All of these investments contribute to Canada's reputation of having a transportation system that is among the strongest, safest and most secure in the world.
It's a transportation system that ensures that Canada remains not only economically competitive but a global leader.
However, today I would like to focus my remarks on the government's commitment to the environment, as demonstrated through our unprecedented investments through Infrastructure Canada's green fund. The investments we're making in green infrastructure are improving the quality of the environment and leading to an improved economy. Through federal infrastructure funding, we are supporting projects that help protect and improve the environment by focusing on issues that matter to Canadians, such as cleaner air, cleaner water, renewable energy, and diverting solid waste from our landfills.
One significant vehicle for these investments is our green infrastructure fund announced in Budget 2009.
The Green Infrastructure Fund was designed to provide funding for public infrastructure that will improve the quality of the environment and lead to a more sustainable economy over the longer term.
Every project we have funded under the green infrastructure fund is done in partnership with our provincial, territorial, and, importantly, our municipal partners. To date, federal funding totally almost $627 million has been committed to 18 projects across Canada. Added to this funding is $1.5 billion from our partners. As minister of this portfolio, I'm proud of these positive effects the projects will have on both Canada's environment and on our economy.
In Ontario, we're providing $234 million for eight projects to improve waste water treatment, all of which are cost shared with the province. Take, for instance, the upgrading of the Woodward Avenue waste water treatment plant in Hamilton, Ontario. By reducing pollution in Hamilton's harbour, we are making environmental improvements that will help us meet our country's obligations under the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Green infrastructure funding support from the federal government is some $100 million.
In the north, we're helping to protect the environment by partnering with the Yukon government and the Yukon first nations on the Mayo B hydro facility and the Carmacks-Stewart transmission project. By building a new powerhouse at the Mayo hydro facility and connecting Yukon's two grid systems, the generation and distribution of clean energy, as well as the reliability of hydro for communities in the north, will be greatly increased. Due to Yukon's current reliance on diesel for much of its electricity, this project is expected to reduce forecast diesel generation in 2012 by some 40%. In turn, this will reduce greenhouse gases from energy production by 50% from the current levels. GIF is providing $71 million for this project.
I want to highlight as well the partnership we have established with the government of Quebec for projects in six municipalities that will gradually reduce landfill needs and generate green energy from waste in the province.
These biométhanisation projects involve building anaerobic digesters that will process tonnes of organic municipal solid waste per year rather than sending it to a landfill. In addition, they turn garbage into fuel. The capture of methane results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and is used as a source of power.
Let me give you a concrete example. In Longueuil, the methane will be used to power a fleet of 78 municipal buses. Green Infrastructure Fund support for these projects totals more than $170 million.
In Saint John, New Brunswick, nearly $10 million of green infrastructure funding is supporting a district energy system that will capture waste heat, which is currently being discharged into the environment as hot water or steam, from existing industrial operations and will distribute heat to 14 different downtown buildings. This will eliminate the use of oil, electricity, or natural gas for space heating and domestic hot water and will result in a reduction of up to 16,000 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions every year.
As you can see, we are very proud of the quality projects supported by the GIF and the positive effects it will bring to communities and to our environment. But the green infrastructure fund is not the only way we are supporting environmental improvement. We are making funding investments through all of our infrastructure programs.
Infrastructure projects such as green energy, energy transmission and waste management are at the very heart of all of our funding programs.
Every year the Government of Canada provides some $2 billion in base funding for municipalities through the gas tax fund. Municipalities use this funding to support environmentally sustainable infrastructure, including waste water infrastructure. In addition, to date we have committed almost 35% of the $8.8 billion Building Canada fund and one-quarter from the $4 billion infrastructure stimulus fund for projects that support green priorities such as green energy, solid waste management, water, and waste water. For example we've supported the Summerside wind farm, a project in Prince Edward Island, with $4.5 million from the Building Canada fund. This project will allow the Island to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce its dependency on out-of-province electricity, meaning that city funds can be redirected to other community improvements.
We recognize the importance of waste water treatment systems and the beneficial effect for the health of Canadian families and the environment. We are working across the country to help municipalities upgrade their waste water infrastructure and to meet the upcoming implementation of a new regulatory framework. For example, across a number of our programs we are contributing to improving the quality of water in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence basin, supporting our obligations under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Through the Building Canada fund, the Canada strategic infrastructure fund, and the green infrastructure fund, the Government of Canada has invested some $600 million in waste water projects in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence watershed.
Making Canada greener is a priority for this government, and we are working closely with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners.
The main estimates that are before us are directly linked to funding top-quality, cost-effective, green public infrastructure. I look forward to chatting with you today on these issues.
I'll make one final comment. We have great news out of Lansing. Jeff Watson and I were down in the Michigan capital yesterday morning and we got another hurdle through the House of Representatives in Michigan by a vote of 56 to 61, supporting the DRIC process. It now goes to the Senate in Michigan. So we're one step closer, but the Senate will prove to be tougher than the House. We had good support from the Democrats--and in Canada from the New Democrats.
