April 26, 2005 Saint John, New Brunswick Enterprise Saint John and Uptown Saint John will receive funding to support two important initiatives for the City, benefiting both area youth as well as Saint John's booming cruise ship industry. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) will provide funding to Enterprise Saint John to support the third year of an initiative aimed at helping youth in the region pursue a career in entrepreneurship. In addition, ACOA is providing assistance to Uptown Saint John for its project aimed at capitalizing on the increasing number of cruise ship passengers visiting the city. "The Government of Canada recognizes that strategic investments in projects such as these will help diversify the economy and improve the quality of life for Atlantic Canadians," said Paul Zed, MP for Saint John,on behalf of the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister for ACOA. "Through ACOA, we are committed to working together with our economic development partners, to ensure that we can continue to create opportunities for growth and development in this region." The project with Enterprise Saint John is to fund the third year of an initiative targeted toward youth in the Greater Saint John region. Through various activities with young aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, this project will increase the number of young people in Saint John with the motivation and skills required to start, sustain or grow a business. This will be done through awareness, promotion and experiential learning activities encouraging young people under the age of 35 to explore entrepreneurship. ACOA has provided $64,387 toward this initiative under its Atlantic Investment Partnership. "By encouraging the city's young people to look at entrepreneurship as a viable career option, we'll have more business start ups, more unique job creation, and greater diversity in the community. Emerging Entrepreneurs is a True Growth initiative and a perfect example how the pioneering spirit continues to live in the present generation of young people in Saint John," said Stephen Carson, Executive Director at Enterprise Saint John. ACOA is also providing Uptown Saint John with a contribution of $34,465 under its Business Development Program, for the purchase of a new Market Slip ramp, as well as people movers, street banners and maps to direct cruise ship passengers to the shops, restaurants and services in Saint John. In recent years, cruise ship traffic to the Port of Saint John has increased significantly, and many businesses rely heavily on cruise ship passengers. "We want to help the cruise visitor's experience to be the best it can be through improved accessibility and awareness of what the uptown offers," said Peter Asimakos, General Manager of Uptown Saint John Inc. For more information on ACOA's programs, visit our web site at:http://www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca . - 30 - Valérie Poulin Director of Communications Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire (613) 941-7241 Sharon Stanford-Rutter Senior Communications Officer ACOA NB (506) 452-3698 Stephen Carson Enterprise Saint John (506) 658-2995 Peter Asimakos Uptown Saint John (506) 633-9797
