Some Saugeen Shores councillors are wondering if they are being punished by the provincial government for being financially successful.
The municipality has been notified that it will not receive provincial funds to help with the proposed $1.3-million reconstruction of the Port Elgin water tower, its eighth-straight rejection for infrastructure funds.
The rejection letter from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explains Saugeen Shores did not meet the economic criteria based on four factors, including property assessments, median household income, net financial assets and average residential property taxes.
The letter concludes other municipalities are facing more challenging economic conditions, but Councillor Dave Myette believes it's partially economic and partially because Huron-Bruce is an opposition riding.
"Our municipality has, for many years, operated their fiscal business in a very responsible manner, we have a good tax base to draw from and we don't have an MP or an MPP that is a member of a sitting government. All of those factors, unfortunately, result in us getting turned down for eight (infrastructure) grants in a row," says Myette.
Myette believes that opposition status will not help the municipality when it comes time to apply for the $10-billion in infrastructure promised by the Trudeau government, pointing out while it seems like a lot of money, it won't go far when it is spread across the country.
