Today, Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and to the Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Member of Parliament for Cape Breton-Canso; Jaime Battiste, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, and Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria; His Worship Cecil Clarke, Mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality; and the Honourable David C. Dingwall, President and Vice-Chancellor of Cape Breton University announced a federal investment of over $17.1 million to improve water infrastructure for two housing developments in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF).
Funding for the project in the Tartan Downs location in Sydney will support the installation of new water main and associated components, new sanitary sewer, and new stormwater piping along with a new stormwater retention pond. Once completed, the project will ensure the area has adequate water, wastewater, solid waste, and stormwater protections in place to support the immediate development of 145 housing units and a full-scale development of 600 new housing units in the next four to five years. Cape Breton University donated 24 acres of land from the Tartan Downs location for the purposes of a development that includes student and senior housing as well as affordable housing in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
The second project will support a new, sustainable and dependable drinking water supply for Cape Breton University's growing campus. The project will also supply drinking water to the neighbouring Tanglewood subdivision development, which will enable residential growth in the area.
These investments, delivered through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF), play a crucial role in strengthening essential infrastructure and getting more homes built faster.