Gatineau, Quebec, May 19, 2006 - The Honourable
Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic
Development, took the opportunity during today's official inauguration of the
Language Technologies Research Centre (LTRC) to highlight the Government of
Canada's active involvement in the establishment of this world-scale research
centre at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
The federal partners involved in the LTRC include National Research Council
Canada's (NRC) Institute for Information Technology, Industry Canada, and the
Public Works and Government Services Canada Translation Bureau. Canada Economic
Development, for its part, provided funding for the various stages of the
project's development and for the construction of the building.
"This important initiative in the field of research is not an end in itself,
but a catalyst for the development of a promising language technologies cluster
in the Outaouais. This Centre will enable Canada to establish itself as a world
leader in the strategic language industry market. In our view, it is essential
that research activities properly reflect the needs of the industry and that
enhancement efforts be made to maximize the commercial benefits," stated
Minister Blackburn.
"As a co-founding member of the LTRC, the Translation Bureau plays an
important role in ensuring that the Government meets its obligations in terms of
official languages," noted the Honourable Michael M. Fortier, Minister of
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). "I am pleased to see that
the Translation Bureau's expertise will be put to good use to develop
techno-linguistic tools that will benefit the language industry as a whole," he
added.
The CRTL aims to help enterprises increase their productivity by developing
high-performance tools for the translation and creation of multilingual content
in order to better capitalize on the expanding global market. Over the medium
term, the Centre hopes to support the startup of some 20 enterprises,
thereby creating about 50 skilled jobs a year in the region. Moreover, it
will provide training to some 40 research scientists each year. The Centre
will eventually include 150 researchers and experts in the language
technologies field, serving as a critical mass to attract further investment and
forge new partnerships. This project will enable the Canadian language industry
to become more competitive and better meet the needs of citizens and government
bodies.
Public Works and Government Services Canada provides common services to all
federal departments and agencies in such areas as property management,
procurement, information technology (IT), translation, consulting and audit in
order to help them better focus their efforts on their fundamental role of
serving Canadians.
Canada Economic Development's mandate is to promote the economic
development of the regions of Quebec. Primarily through financial assistance
programs, the Agency elicits and supports the implementation of economic
development projects.
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Sources:
François BélisleCommunicationsCanada Economic DevelopmentTel.: 1 800
567-6451, ext. 235E-mail: francois.belisle@dec-ced.gc.ca
Roxane MarchandPress SecretaryOffice of the Honourable
Jean-Pierre BlackburnCanada Economic DevelopmentTel.: 819 953-5646Cell.:
613 816-5094E-mail: roxane.marchand@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
Media RelationsNicole Babin Public Works and Government Services
CanadaPress Secretary Office of Minister FortierTel.: 819
956-2315Tel.: 819 997-5421
Canada Economic Development is on line at www.dec-ced.gc.ca.
