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DIAND turns down city’s request for funding

Money would have paid for research on public-private partnerships

MIRIAM HILL

City administrators are reeling after receiving word last week that the federal government has turned down a request for funding that was to be used toward a public-private initiative regarding the city’s infrastructure plan.

The city had applied for $200,000 from a northern affairs program called Promoting the Economic Development of the North — Innovation and Knowledge. The money would have been used to determine the viability of entering into a public-private partnership with a large corporation to implement planned capital projects.

"The money was going to allow us to further investigate the possibility of this 3-P partnership because there’s some money required to give due diligence," Mayor John Matthews said. The city wants to enter into a partnership with a large corporation to implement $50 million worth of capital projects.

The city planned to use the federal money to bring a corporation onside and determine whether it could provide the type of product the city is looking for.

Matthews spoke with Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Robert Nault in November and the two had a very "positive" meeting, Matthews said. So he was surprised when he found out the funding was denied.

"It was a horrible shock because we had used the money they had given us previously in such a constructive fashion," Matthews said. "We were very, very disappointed given his positive response and we felt that we did meet the criteria of the program and the department here wasn’t very helpful at all."

Matthews said the local INAC office sent an e-mail to the city’s chief administrative officer, Rick Butler, informing him that the funding request was denied. Butler tried to reach the office to find out avenues to appeal the decision, but has received no response.

Matthews has written a letter to Nault appealing the decision of the local office and hopes for a response soon.

"It’s delaying the whole implementation of the possible agreement," Matthews said.

If the funding doesn’t come through, Matthews said, the city will have to try to get the money from other sources.

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