CANADA’S cash-strapped municipalities will receive C$2.2 billion (US$1.62 billion) in fast-tracked federal infrastructure funding to help cover funding shortfalls in budgets battered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

The one-time payment will be delivered in June through the federal Gas Tax Fund, Trudeau told his daily press briefing.

Municipalities will have flexibility to use the funding to meet local needs, including for projects like boosting access to high-speed broadband or improving roads and water systems, Trudeau said.

“From testing clinics to programs for seniors, cities and towns provide essential services, so it’s crucial that they have the resources they need,” he told reporters.

Many municipalities in Canada have deferred property taxes to help residents whose finances were hard hit by the crisis, and their other sources of revenue have declined during the lockdown.(SD-Agencies)