THUNDER BAY — The proponents of three major building projects in the Thunder Bay area are all waiting for a phone call or letter from the same office in Ottawa.
Infrastructure Canada must decide whether to grant one or more of them the funding they are seeking from the government's Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program.
The program supports the construction of energy-efficient publicly-accessible community buildings, with individual projects eligible for up to $25 million.
The City of Thunder Bay applied last year for $22 million for its proposed indoor turf facility.
Fort William First Nation wants $25 million for a new 96-bed long-term care facility.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery also applied for funding, but the gallery has not disclosed how much it asked for.
According to information posted on a federal government website last July, decisions on applications to the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program were to be made sometime in the fall.
There are still no public announcements, however.
Kelly Robertson, general manager of Community Services for the city, says the city received follow-up inquiries from Infrastructure Canada in October, but there have been no updates since then.
"However, I believe our application is still active based on generic info provided by I.C. in the new year," Robertson said in an email to TBNewswatch.
Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins said he's only heard that "we are still in the queue."
Similarly, art gallery director Sharon Godwin said "We haven't received any news yet, nor have we been able to get any information about the timeline for decisions."
The art gallery previously received $15 million from two other federal funding sources.
In Ottawa, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Canada did not respond to questions about the timing of its decisions, but said "We have received a high level of interest in the program...officials continue to diligently review and assess projects."
