Canada and Yukon Fund Water Supply System in Haines Junction

WHITEHORSE, YUKON, Sep 05 (MARKET WIRE) --
The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development and Federal Interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians,
and the Honourable Archie Lang, Yukon Minister of Community Services,
today announced funding for improvements to Haines Junction's water
supply system.

"The Government of Canada is taking concrete steps to improve community
infrastructure in the North," said Minister Strahl. "This project
supports the Government's priority of ensuring that clean, reliable
sources of drinking water are available in rural communities in the
Yukon, and throughout Canada."

The Village of Haines Junction will receive $245,267 under the
Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF). This water
system project will improve the pumping capacity of local wells and will
include a water testing station.

"The Yukon government remains committed to creating a better quality of
life for Yukoners through healthy and strong communities," said Minister
Lang. "The Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund provides the
opportunity for Yukon to partner with Canada and local governments to
provide funding to enhance Yukon community infrastructure and services."

Canada and Yukon will provide two-thirds of the total project funding and
the Village of Haines Junction will provide the additional $123,000 in
eligible costs.

The Government of Canada supports a vision of a new North that realizes
its full potential and secures its future, for the benefit of all
Canadians. Our integrated Northern Strategy supports this vision by
focusing on four integrated priorities: economic and social development,
governance, environmental protection, and sovereignty.

For more information about the Government of Canada and Government of
Yukon infrastructure programs, visit http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/ or
http://www.gov.yk.ca/.

This release and backgrounder are also available on the Internet at
www.inac.gc.ca

BACKGROUNDER

The Canada-Yukon Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) is a
federal-territorial funding program created to help address the
infrastructure needs of urban and rural areas. The program began in 2005
and will run until 2011-12. It helps Yukon municipalities and their
residents ensure they have access to the same quality of public
infrastructure as communities in the rest of Canada.

Over the life of the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund agreement, the
governments of Canada and the Yukon will each invest over $19 million in
various community infrastructure projects. To date, more than $25 million
in MRIF project funding has been committed to 17 projects, in cooperation
with municipal and First Nation governments in the Yukon. By the end of
the program, up to $57 million dollars will have been spent to improve
infrastructure in the Yukon Territory.

The MRIF project funding for the Village of Haines Junction will
contribute up to $245,267 of the project costs for the improvement of
pumping capacity at well #3, as well as the installation of a pump at
well #5. A sampling station will also be installed at well #5. This
project will ensure that the water and safety needs of the community are
met, now and in the future.

Contacts:
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Yukon Region
Line Gagnon
Senior Communications Advisor
867-667-3315

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Media Relations
819-953-1160

Government of Yukon
Roxanne Vallevand
Communications Advisor
867-633-7949
roxanne.vallevand@gov.yk.ca

Community Services, Government of Yukon
Nathalie Harwood
Communications Analyst
867-667-5075
nathalie.harwood@gov.yk.ca

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