Waterloo celebrates federal contribution to two facilities

The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Government House Leader, visited Waterloo’s Adult Recreation Centre (ARC) this afternoon to announce a boost in funding for two local facilities: the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex (WMRC) and the East Side Library.

“Municipalities in Canada are responsible for nearly two-thirds of infrastructure, yet they receive less than 10 per cent of the tax dollars collected,” says Mayor Dave Jaworsky. “The one-time doubling in 2019 of the federal gas tax funding will dramatically help with two major projects—the new East Side Library at RIM Park as well as the expansion and relocation of the Adult Recreation Centre to the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.”

The City of Waterloo receives $3.1 million annually in federal gas tax funding, which has been allocated to the expansion of WMRC. Minister Chagger announced an additional one-time top-up of $3.1 million; $1.8 million will be allocated to the WMRC expansion, and $1.3 million to the East Side Library, to further support these two important community-building enhancements.

Says Minister Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo: "Our government doubled this stable, predictable, long-term funding because communities like the City of Waterloo rely on it to develop public infrastructure, keep families safe, promote economic development, and improve people's quality of life. Today's announcement will support the expansion of library services to the east side of Waterloo and the expansion of the Rec Complex to include a community pavilion for older adult programming; these services respond to the evolving recreational needs of our citizens. I will continue to work with all levels of government to ensure the residents of the Riding of Waterloo continue to prosper." 

The WMRC is expanding to address the city’s need for additional capacity for indoor recreation, evolving recreational needs of the community, and the need for new space for older adult programs. As part of the project, the city will replace the existing ARC with a community pavilion of about 22,000 square feet on WMRC property. City staff will return to council later this year for approval to move ahead with construction at WMRC. The WMRC community pavilion is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021, with total completion of construction for the WMRC expansion scheduled to finish in the summer of 2022. Existing programs and customers using the ARC will continue to use that space until the WMRC community pavilion is complete and operational. 

The East Side Library will be the fourth branch of the Waterloo Public Library system and it will be located at RIM Park, attached to the Manulife Sportsplex. The new branch supports the need for additional library services due to growth within the city, and specifically on the east side of Waterloo. The branch is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021, and is anticipated to provide an additional 2,947 library operating hours. 

Media contact:

Shelly Reed
Communications consultant
519-747-8515
TTY: 1-866-786-3941 
shelly.reed@waterloo.ca