Ontario's Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure is looking for northern solutions to northern infrastructure needs.
"You don't want a made in Queen's Park solution," said Glen Murray.
Murray met with local municipal leaders from the city and outlying communities Wednesday at the Murillo Community Hall to discuss how they want to see a $100 million fund for small, rural communities in Northern Ontario doled out.
Murray announced the fund in April in Thunder Bay during the Northern Ontario Municipal Association's annual general meeting.
"We see northern municipalities particularly as critical partners," said Murray. "They often have smaller populations, a lot of geography, which means a lot of roads, a lot of sewer, a lot of water without the tax base to support it."
This kind of rural fund will allow these smaller communities to fix or maintain their infrastructure and allow them to build their economy, the minister said.
While the $100 million will start flowing this October, Murray said they are also looking to create a permanent fund for projects like roads, bridges and sewers and they want input from northern leaders on how that program would work.
Oliver Paipoonge has two projects that need immediate attention - a bridge on Harstone Drive and a portion of Oliver Road. Both of those projects will costs millions of dollars.
Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis said not only does her community have infrastructure needs and a lack of money to address those needs, but they also have a problem with the way grants and funding are currently given out.
"We have to look at it from all different perspectives," she said.
"There are some municipalities...that do not even have the funds to do an engineering study, which is a requirement to apply for the funding."
Murray wasn't just hearing about basic infrastructure needs but also quality of life infrastructure needs. He said recreational infrastructure is just as important.
"You have to have clean water. You have to have the roads. You have to have the basic infrastructure that we rely on to take showers and get to work in the morning. On the other half, you always have the quality of life," he said.
"It's not just about pipes and pavement."
