WINNIPEG, February 2, 2005 --President of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament (Winnipeg South) Reg Alcock, on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla, today announced $369,015 in funding for the Manitoba Library Consortium. The funds will allow the organization to establish the Manitoba: Life and Times Web site."This project will open an online window into the rural history of Manitoba and Canada. The youth will learn the challenges which faced our ancestors," said Minister Alcock." "By creating Web sites like this one, we are preserving the history of the people and events that shaped our country," said Minister Frulla. "I am proud to support this project, which will enable Internet users around the world to discover a period of canadian history in all its diversity."The Manitoba Library Consortium's Web site will feature the writings of French and English-speaking people who lived in the province between 1859 and 1919. It will also contain the diary of Mary Louise Pickering, a woman who from age 13 documented the challenges of raising a young family in a rural setting. The site will also focus on issues pertaining to adolescence, family life, rural life, education and social participation. Financial assistance is provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Partnerships Fund component of its Canadian Culture Online strategy. The Fund is designed to assist partnership initiatives between not-for-profit public and private organizations that aim to give Canadians access, through Internet and in both official languages, to cultural collections held by provincial, municipal and local cultural organizations.Funding announced today was provided for in the March 2004 federal budget.Information:Jean-Philippe CôtéDirector of CommunicationsOffice of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women(819) 997-7788 Lise Jolicoeur Press SecretaryOffice of the President of the Treasury Board(613) 944-6512 Myriam BrochuChief, Media RelationsCanadian Heritage(819) 997-9314
