Mr. Speaker, I am happy to speak to the motion put forward by my colleague from Labrador.
I come from a riding in far northern Alberta. My riding has many people from Newfoundland and Labrador. The estimate is as many as 30,000.
Our government is committed to supporting Canada's northern communities and people.
I took my first trip up to Yellowknife from Fort McMurray by canoe when I was five years old. I had the opportunity at that time see part of the north and to fall in love with it. It is an amazing area with many rivers and lakes, and people who are really proud. Quite frankly, it is a place that needs our concentration on infrastructure.
This government's sovereignty agenda has shown from the very start how important the north is to Canada and to our government.
We have worked closely with our counterparts in other governments, including the provinces and territories, to match and multiply our stimulus for the economy, to get people to work and to establish the north as a very strong area of Canada. That in itself speaks to the sovereignty of our nation and sends a clear message to other countries.
We are committed to these partnerships with the provinces and territories. We believe that the key to bolstering our economy and minimizing the effect of the global recession is partly in the north. Certainly the north is where the future of Canada is located.
In fact, today, I would like to announce that Canada's transport and infrastructure minister is meeting with representatives from communities, big and small, at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual general meeting in British Columbia. He is providing them with an update on our actions and is listening to their feedback, which is so important. We work with our partners. We know that working with our partners is the only way to get the agenda that Canadians want through. The minister is listening to them and he is providing information about our government's unprecedented action to stimulate economic growth, to create jobs and to invest in Canada's core public infrastructure.
We are working 10 times faster than any government in modern history to get things going on infrastructure from coast to coast. Budget 2009 is a clear example of this. Canada's economic action plan provides close to $12 billion in stimulus through spending on infrastructure. This includes $4 billion for the infrastructure stimulus fund. This will provide funding to provinces, territories, municipalities and communities for construction-ready infrastructure projects in the short term to provide economic growth.
I am happy to say that fund is up and running from coast to coast to coast. The money is getting out to communities. Included in that is $2 billion for infrastructure development at universities and colleges across this country. Canada's industry minister announced a number of these important projects across the country over the last few weeks. My riding has received some of this money. The people in the universities and colleges in my riding in northern Alberta are ecstatic about this. We are seeing real investment in the future of Canada which, again, is the north and the students, our youth.
There is $1 billion for the green infrastructure fund to support environmentally sound infrastructure projects in every region of this country. I am very excited about that. The environment is very important to me. It is very important to the Prime Minister and this government.
There is $500 million to top up the existing communities component of the building Canada fund. This will provide support to communities of under 100,000 people, which are very important to me. Many of us come from communities of under 100,000 people. Previous governments sometimes ignored those communities. This government is simply not doing that. We are investing in communities big and small across this country.
There is also $500 million for to provide financial assistance to communities to repair and create recreational facilities.
Speaking of the green infrastructure fund, I recently had an opportunity to travel to Whitehorse to meet with officials from Yukon Territory, including the premier, to announce the launch of the green infrastructure fund. I was very proud to announce the first project which was $71 million to upgrade the Mayo B hydro generating facilities and the completion of the Carmacks-Stewart transmission line.
I was advised by officials that that particular project is going to save tens of thousands of GHG emissions per year. It is a very good project for Canada. It is a very good initiative for the health of all Canadians. This project will also help to provide economic opportunities for local residents, employment opportunities and support environmentally sound infrastructure. This is the first of many initiatives nationwide that this fund will support. The green infrastructure fund is very important to me. It is a great example of how this government is working with the provinces, territories and municipalities all across this great nation.
We are delivering on our promises to Canadians as outlined in January's economic action plan. We are getting the job done by working with other governments across the country. That is what is needed. We need other parties in the House to work cooperatively together to get things done and to work with the provinces, the territories and municipalities, not argue and continue to debate things in a negative fashion.
We need support with our budget, as the Liberals did and the NDP and the Bloc should have done, to move aggressively forward with funding and initiatives such as this one for the people of the north. Together we are helping to ensure that Canada emerges from the current global recession sooner than any other country and stronger than ever before.
This Conservative government is getting that job done.