Ontario's Ministry of Infrastructure is defending the cap put on Chatham-Kent (CK) for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).
The municipality is set to get $10 million from the fund next year, but local officials claim it should be closer to $29 million.
In a statement, the ministry explained that the cap was implemented to ensure that all small, rural, and Northern communities can get funding through the program.
"The OCIF funding cap ensures that funding is stable and predictable across all municipalities served by the program. The formula also accounts for financial means, with communities like Chatham-Kent getting proportionally more funding due to higher need," read the statement.
The cap limits any community from getting more than 2.5 per cent of the available funding. Since the fund will be $400 million in 2026, CK will receive $10 million.
The funding the municipality is set to receive is also tied for the most across the province. Thunder Bay and Greater Sudbury are also getting $10 million due to the cap.
The ministry's statement also claimed the fund isn't the only way CK is getting support for its infrastructure needs.
"[OCIF] is in addition to the funding Chatham-Kent has received to support other infrastructure needs, including the construction of St. Angela’s Meadow Care Centre with 160 beds, the new Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent, and the $184 million we have invested in grants to the municipality since 2018 to address maintenance and operations costs," read the statement.
The ministry added that it understands the municipality has a higher need than most communities, which is why it's tied for the most funding any community is receiving through OCIF.
