Comox and Denman Island will each benefit from chunks of more than $1.6 million in funding announced Wednesday by Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan.Funding of $250,000 for the Comox Valley Harbour Authority to construct an access ramp and install floats at the Comox small craft harbour, and $124,188 for the Denman Island Residents’ Association to build a community dock were among nine projects to receive funding.Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, made the announcements on behalf of Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, at the Comox Valley Harbour Authority board room. Funding came from the West Coast Community Adjustment Program (WestCCAP). “Canadians gave us a strong mandate to create jobs and opportunities for economic growth, and that’s precisely what these investments are doing,” Duncan said.”We’re very pleased to see our new breakwater project and the expansion of our floats coming to completion,” authority president Tim Noot said. He acknowledged the Small Craft Harbours Program, a division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for constructing and installing an improved breakwater. “It will likely be tested soon as the storms start rolling through in November,” Noot said.  He also thanked funding partner WestCCAP for the “very significant contribution toward a new float” that will increase summer moorage capacity and connect to the new floating breakwater. Duncan said there were multiple contributors to the dock project at Denman.”I’m very pleased that came through,” he said.Other projects include a new visitor centre in Alert Bay, an improved wharf on Quadra Island and a trail network loop from Crofton to Maple Bay.  The Fisheries Legacy Trust, comprised of 13 West Coast Community Futures development corporations, is delivering the WestCCAP initiative on behalf of government. reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record