AMO Reports Significant Benefits from Federal Funds

TORONTO , Oct. 1 /CNW/ - The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) today released a comprehensive assessment of the Federal Gas Tax and Federal Public Transit Funds that demonstrates the programs' important contributions to more than 1,166 completed infrastructure investments since 2005, all of which have contributed to cleaner water, cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in communities throughout Ontario.

AMO's report summarizes the outcomes information submitted by Ontario municipalities. Projects supported by this fund have:

    
    -   Reduced the number of adverse water quality test results by 94% in
        eight municipalities;
    -   Improved drinking water in 29 municipalities;
    -   Improved wastewater treatment for more than 40,000 households;
    -   Diverted 71,000 tonnes of waste from Ontario landfills;
    -   Expanded composting programs to 270,000 households;
    -   Improved 2,000 kilometres of roads; and,
    -   Decreased energy demands in the province by over 7.65 million
        kilowatt hours annually - enough to power 732 average Ontario homes
        for a full year!
    

"The Federal Gas Tax Fund is making a tremendous contribution to Ontario communities," said Peter Hume , AMO President. "In addition to promoting economic growth and infrastructure development, the program is enabling municipalities to show leadership on green initiatives, as our outcomes report documents."

Public release of the report at this time fulfills a contractual obligation that AMO entered into when it signed its Federal Gas Tax Fund Agreement with the Government of Canada in 2005.

The Federal Gas Tax Fund provides municipalities with long-term, predictable funding for municipal infrastructure. In total, the Fund commits $13 billion in federal funding to Canadian municipalities between 2005 and 2014. Ontario's portion of that is approximately $4.8 billion , with an annual allocation of $746 million each year from 2009 to 2014.

AMO is a non-profit organization that supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and represents almost all of Ontario's 444 municipal governments. It administers Federal Gas Tax funding to municipalities on behalf of the Federal Government, with the exception of the City of Toronto which receives its funding directly.

Municipalities report back to the Federal Government, through AMO, to ensure compliance with funding criteria and accountability to taxpayers. These reports include assessments regarding the environmental outcomes of all completed gas tax funded projects. AMO's Outcomes Report is a synopsis of reported outcomes throughout Ontario.

AMO's full Outcomes Report, a summary brochure, and a search engine to locate Federal Gas Tax investments in your community are available at www.GasTaxAtWork.ca.

For further information: Pat Vanini, AMO Executive Director, [phone], ext. 316 or [phone]; Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact, [phone]