Councillors for the City of Windsor continue to wonder where the money that was promised from the government for the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund is.
During Monday's meeting, ward 6 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac asked about the money after council received a letter from Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, saying there seems to be confusion about whether the federal government will be providing 40 per cent of project costs.
LeBlanc wrote in the letter to city council that there is no mechanism in place to address funding shortfalls due to inflation.
In 2018, the DMAF contributed approximately $32.1-million, with the City of Windsor covering the other 60 per cent of the estimated cost, $55.3-million.
Infrastructure Canada was set to cover 40 per cent of the project costs, however, they will only cover 40 per cent of the price estimate from 2018.
Ward 9 councillor, Kieran McKenzie, put forward a motion, which was passed, asking for consultation with Federation of Canadian Municipalities as well as other affected municipalities to advocate for the development of federal mechanism to address inflationary cost escalations of the DMAF program, and that the city contact local MP's to request continuing advocacy.
McKenzie says council is still asking the government to put up their 40 per cent per the agreement, regardless of inflation.
"Even though we did originally budget for a certain amount of inflation, but, because the inflation over the last 18 months to two years has been very significant, it's really put those projects in a new, and a different stratosphere. We're asking the government to stick to the agreement where they're still funding 40 per cent of the total project cost."
He says the government holds the power to create ways for funding to be made available.
"If there is no funding mechanism currently available, the government could enact a provision of the bill or of the program to address inflationary pressures that municipalities are feeling with respect to DMAF funding and DMAF funded projects."
He adds that Windsor could see negative impacts if funding is not provided for the program.
"With flat topography and surrounded by water, it's very susceptible to flooding. So the DMAF program is a very important program for us to be able to afford to make the investments in the infrastructure that's required in order for us to build the resiliency to protect people across Windsor, and frankly across the entire region, because in many ways the entire system is connected."
During the meeting, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens stressed how vitally important it is to achieve goals in the Sewer Master Plan.
If the funding is not provided, some projects within the program may be cut, and councillor McKenzie says it is possible the city might owe the government for funding already spent on the DMAF program.
Estimates for the project for 2023 has it listed at $176-million, $86-million more than five years ago.