Brockville- March 21, 2011 – Hans Cunningham, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and director of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, B.C., and Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, today announced a Green Municipal Fund^TM (GMF) grant for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The municipality put the $103,455 in funding toward a regional integrated sustainable community development plan.

“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Cunningham. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said MP Brown. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville build a greener future for our citizens.”

To provide high-level strategic guidance to its varied communities and municipalities, the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (Leeds Grenville) will develop a regional integrated community sustainability plan (ICSP). The resulting strategic framework will encourage each community to align its Official Plan with common goals, while providing flexibility to address local priorities.

Leeds Grenville and its stakeholders have already begun to integrate sustainability with economic development; tourism, culture, and the arts; waste management; local food; and ecosystem protection. The ICSP will build on those efforts, adding potential sustainability initiatives related to energy, drinking water and transportation. Opt-out provisions and the ability to delegate responsibilities upward or downward will create a collaborative environment for Leeds Grenville member communities.

A strategic consultation process will begin with one summit, and continue with sustainability planning workshops and panel sessions supported by a combination of in-person, online and mail-in stakeholder participation and feedback.

This regional ICSP, innovative because of its proposed scale and its partnerships with neighbouring jurisdictions and research institutions, will provide guidance for other rural areas with a two-tier municipal government. Leeds Grenville will document and share lessons learned, and develop tools that can be easily adapted by other communities.

“The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville appreciates the support of the Green Municipal Fund for our sustainable initiative,” said Warden Mel Campbell. “In the months ahead we will be asking for the input of Leeds Grenville citizens to develop a plan that will embrace the four cornerstones of sustainability; culture, environment, societal and economic development.  These cornerstones will form our foundation base for creating our sustainable vision for the future.”

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal FundÔ. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.