New steps were announced yesterday to help Canadian provinces and territories cope with the difficulties created by the COVID-19 crisis.

Minister of Northern Affairs and Member of Parliament Dan Vandal says it's been a tough few months and while we aren't in the clear just yet, when the time comes, infrastructure will play an important role in rebuilding our society.

"We're pleased to announce that we have a new COVID Resilience funding stream for infrastructure," says Vandal. "This allows provinces to transfer [up to] 10% of the initial allocation under our Investing in Canada Infrastructure fund to the new COVID Resilience fund."

This adjustment allows provinces and territories to act quicker and upon a wider range of infrastructure projects. For Manitoba, Vandal explains, this means a little bit more than 117 million dollars will be allocated to the COVID Resilience funding stream.

"That will allow investments in schools, long-term care homes, hospitals that need to be retrofitted because of COVID," says Vandal.

"By investing in infrastructure that supports health lifestyles and provides increased opportunities for residents, we are helping local economies in Manitoba deal with the health and the economic fallout of COVID-19," says Vandal. "With infrastructure funding, it's flexible, it'll make it easier to invest in safety measures for schools, long-term care facilities and hospitals and build projects to allow people to stay active outdoors."

For more information on allocation values in other provinces and territories, continue reading here.