Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program - British Columbia - COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream

Last updated on May 2, 2023

The COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream intake is now closed.

The Province of British Columbia and Canada have partnered to develop the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS) as part of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) in response to the effects of COVID-19 on communities across the province.

Overview

CVRIS supports projects that:

Provide retrofits, repairs and upgrades to local government and indigenous government buildings, health infrastructure and educational infrastructure
Support development of active transportation networks
Allow communities to improve their infrastructure to increase the resiliency and efficiency in preventing the spread of COVID-19 (including protective screens and ability to physically distance)
Complete disaster mitigation and adaptation infrastructure projects

On December 1, 2020, the Canadian and British Columbian governments committed up to $80.29 million towards the intake of CVRIS to support cost-sharing of infrastructure projects in communities across the province. CVRIS is designed to target projects starting before September 30, 2021 and completing by December 31, 2021. Remote communities are able to extend projects a further year with a project end date of December 31, 2022.

Please ensure directions and requirements outlined in the application steps are followed as funding is competitive and merit-based, and previous ICIP programs have been oversubscribed.

The applications that receive the highest technical score will be those that:

Show a clear connection to program criteria and objectives
Demonstrate the principles of sustainability
And are supported by strong planning to ensure sustainable service delivery

Applications

Projects most likely to receive funds provide value and are proportionate to the size of the community that will benefit. Equitable distribution of funding is a consideration. Mandatory documents must be submitted during the application process. In addition, specific criteria must also be met for the project. The documentation for these criteria will not be required as part of the application but may be requested by the Province at any time including during application, approval, construction, and on or after completion of the project.

Application Steps

Before submitting an application, refer to:
Determine if your project meets requirements for funding
Determine if your organization is eligible to submit an application
Ensure you have a Business BCeID (see Accessing the Online Application above for details)
Complete the online application
Upload your completed mandatory documents with your application which may include but are not limited to:
- Project location .KML file
- Detailed cost estimate
- Site plan/Map

Project Eligibility

Eligible projects will support public infrastructure, defined as a tangible capital asset primarily for public use and benefit. To be eligible, projects must meet at least one of the following outcomes specific to the CVRIS funding stream:

Retrofits, repairs and upgrades to local government and indigenous buildings, health infrastructure or educational infrastructure
- Local Government and Indigenous Government buildings
- Health Infrastructure
- Educational Infrastructure
COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure
- Any public infrastructure asset¹ where the purpose of the project is to build, modify or reconfigure the asset to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes temporary infrastructure.
Active Transportation Infrastructure
- Active transportation infrastructure, including parks, trails, foot bridges, bike lanes, multi-use paths, parks and playgrounds
Disaster mitigation and Adaptation Infrastructure²
- Any public infrastructure asset¹, including natural infrastructure³, where the purpose of the project is to build, modify, or reinforce to prevent, mitigate or protect against the impacts of climate change, disasters triggered by natural hazards, or extreme weather events.²
- Any public infrastructure asset¹ including natural infrastructure³, where the purpose of the project is to build, modify, or reinforce to prevent, mitigate or protect against fires.
- Assets associated with afforestation and reforestation.

¹ For the purpose of this project category, public infrastructure asset includes not-for-profit infrastructure projects where the project is for public use and/or benefit.

² Flood mitigation excluded, as these projects will be administered separately by Emergency Management BC through the Adaptation, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation (ARDM) program.

³ Natural infrastructure means the use of naturally occurring resources (e.g. aquifer, wetland, forest, shoreline vegetation, etc.) or the engineered use of natural resources (e.g. green roofs, bioswales/rain gardens, tree-lined streets, etc.) to provide adaptation or mitigation services to the gradual and/or sudden impacts of climate change or natural hazards.

Project Financing and Cost Sharing

Applicants must be prepared to finance project construction and cover any ineligible costs or cost over-runs. The program is claims based. Please see the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream Program Guide (PDF 405.6 KB) for additional details. The total federal and provincial contributions depend on the type of applicant.

Local Government Projects

Funding is available up to 100% of eligible project costs (80% Government of Canada, 20% Province of British Columbia)

Municipalities may submit one application.
Regional Districts may submit one application for each Electoral Area, as well as, one application from the Regional District for a sub-regional or regional service.

Indigenous Ultimate Recipient Projects

Funding is available up to 100% of the eligible project costs (100% Government of Canada)

Indigenous Ultimate Recipients may submit one application.

Not-For-Profit Projects

Funding is available up to 100% of the eligible project costs (80% Government of Canada, 20% Province of British Columbia).

Not-For-Profit organizations may submit one application.

Online application

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The B.C. Public Service acknowledges the territories of First Nations around B.C. and is grateful to carry out our work on these lands. We acknowledge the rights, interests, priorities, and concerns of all Indigenous Peoples - First Nations, Métis, and Inuit - respecting and acknowledging their distinct cultures, histories, rights, laws, and governments.

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