Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that today in his question, the member for Charlottetown uses the wording “will create over 300 jobs and inject about $30 million into the economy”. I would note that when asking questions in the House, he used different wording. He said, “received $30 million in new money for infrastructure upgrades”. There was very different wording in his questions that precipitated this adjournment proceeding tonight.
I want to clarify the question raised by the member for Charlottetown surrounding the level of funding provided to the province of Prince Edward Island under the knowledge infrastructure program. In particular, I would like to clarify certain numbers reported in the fifth report to Canadians.
The knowledge infrastructure program is providing significant short-term stimulus in local communities across Canada by investing in infrastructure at universities and colleges. Through the program, we have committed $2 billion over two years to 536 different projects in every province and territory in Canada. This has been more than matched by contributions from the provinces and other sources, resulting in total project costs of roughly $5 billion.
Prince Edward Island has received funding for two KIP projects, one at Holland College and one at the University of Prince Edward Island. The project at Holland College includes major renovations to the Charlottetown Centre and the construction of a new centre for applied science and technology. The total cost of this project is $17 million, of which the federal portion is $8.5 million.
The project at UPEI includes $4 million for major infrastructure upgrades, of which the federal government is providing $2 million. The total federal funding for PEI under the KIP program is therefore $10.5 million over two years. Because my colleague from Charlottetown seems to be confused as to the content of the fifth report to Canadians, specifically an item on page 242 of that document, I appreciate this chance to offer some clarity on the matter.
From page 242 of the fifth report to Canadians, it is clear that investments in P.E.I. under the KIP program will create over 300 jobs and inject about $30 million into the economy. Under this program, UPEI and Holland College together received a total of $10.5 million in federal funding. When matched with provincial funds, this amounts to $21 million for Holland College and UPEI together.
Even when assessed under the most conservative assessments of the impacted stimulus funding, we arrive at a total economic benefit to the Island economy of $31.5 million. We have never claimed that the project at UPEI has received anything other than $2 million in KIP funding matched by the province.
I regret the confusion resulting from the member for Charlottetown's misreading of the fifth report to Canadians. We do hold in high regard the provincial governments and partnering institutions for working with us on these projects. These projects are of great importance to students and faculty at both UPEI and Holland College.