July 26, 2005
Saint John, New Brunswick
The Canadian Rivers Institute (CRI) received good news
today in support of its plans for the construction of new
research facilities. Formally established in 2000 by the
University of New Brunswick (UNB), the CRI mandate is to
carry out research on rivers ecosystem.On hand making joint infrastructure funding announcements
were the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister for the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA); Paul Zed,
Member of Parliament for Saint John; the Honourable
Madeleine Dubé, Minister of Education; Trevor Holder, MLA
for Saint John-Portland along with Kathryn Hamer, Vice-
President of UNB Saint John. The provision of adequate facilities for the Canadian
Rivers Institute was one of its highest funding priorities.
The new 2-story facility, to be located as an add-on to the
existing K.C. Irving Hall, will contain both wet and dry
labs as well as office space for researchers, technicians
and graduate students. The project also includes the
purchase of equipment to support lab and field research. The modernized CRI facilities will be more attractive for
additional researchers, scientists and funding agencies as
it reaches a critical mass."I am proud to see exciting research and development
projects happening right here in New Brunswick," said
Minister McGuire. "This $1.6 million ACOA investment for
the construction of new research facilities for the
Canadian Rivers Institute will contribute to our economy by
providing new technologies and expertise for standardizing
environmental monitoring systems and for enhanced services
in the field of aquatic environmental sciences.""The Province of New Brunswick is pleased to announce
another contribution to the improvement of teaching and
research capacity at New Brunswick's universities," said
Dubé. "Providing funds to support university
infrastructure clearly demonstrates our ongoing, strong
commitment to post-secondary education. Through our
University Infrastructure Trust Fund we are investing $35
million to enhance New Brunswick's university
infrastructure. Helping universities improve their
strategic infrastructure and embrace innovation is part of
our Greater Opportunity: New Brunswick's Prosperity Plan."
"ACOA's investment in the Canadian Rivers Institute is an
investment for the future," said MP Zed. "This is great
news for the Saint John and surrounding communities. This
project will help to position UNB and Saint John at the
forefront of research and innovation in improving the
quality of rivers and coastal systems in Canada.""The Province of New Brunswick is committed to promoting
excellence in research by assisting universities in
improving their infrastructure," Holder said. "Our
investment in this project will allow the University of New
Brunswick Saint John to continue to play a leading role in
the future of the Saint John region and our province." "Thanks to ACOA and the Province of New Brunswick, the
expansion of the CRI will be the first major undertaking
under our new campus plan," said Dr. Kathryn Hamer, Vice-
President UNB Saint John. "This new facility will allow
our researchers and graduate students to continue their
vital work to improve our health and environment."The Canadian Rivers Institute (CRI) is a research network
focusing on the conservation and restoration of river
ecosystems. The Institute works directly with industry and
other partners such as private environmental consulting
firms to develop tools and solutions to ensure that
industries reduce the environmental impacts of their
activities.The new facilities will support research on the development
and field testing of tools and approaches to assess the
impact that industrial discharges have on watercourses.
New Brunswickers will benefit through the presence of a
regional centre of excellence for identifying the causes of
environmental problems and will focus on the development of
solutions to improve the sustainability of New Brunswick's
rivers.The tools developed by CRI could be commercialized by the
Atlantic environmental consulting industry potentially
giving it a competitive advantage worldwide in this fast
growing business.The new tools and innovative assessment techniques
developed in the modernized CRI labs will benefit Atlantic
consulting companies in growing their business and
exporting their services throughout Canada and
international markets.ACOA is providing funding of $1,607,900 through its
Business Development Program and the Province of New
Brunswick is providing $1.5 million through the University
Infrastructure Program. The CRI has also received a
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Award of nearly
$1.8 million last year as part of a $585.9 million CFI
investment for infrastructure support for 126 projects at
57 Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and
other non-profit research institutions
.
For more information on ACOA programs and services, visit
the web site at: www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca.
For more information on the Canadian Rivers Institute,
visit the web site at: www.unb.ca/c
Media contacts:
Valérie Poulin
Director, Communications
Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire
Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(613) 941 7241
Communications
Department of Education
(506) 444-4717
Stéphanie Bilodeau
Senior Communications Officer
ACOA N.-B.
(506) 452-3304
Dan Tanaka
Communications Manager
UNB Saint John
(506) 648-5697
