Maniwaki, Quebec, February 7, 2008 Acting on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced that Auberge du Draveur has been granted $200,000 in repayable funding to carry out its expansion project.
With this project, the Auberge intends to enlarge its facilities to include 20 additional rooms (eight of them adjoining and four with kitchenettes), a 320-person conference
hall, an exercise centre with sauna and adjoining massage rooms, and various
other upgrades to its reception area, elevator, air conditioning room, laundry
facilities, and so on. Guests will also be able to enjoy such new outdoor improvements as a park, pool and spa. This project is expected to result in the creation of the equivalent of 10 full-time jobs and the consolidation of the 44 jobs already in place.
"This expansion project will give the Regional County Municipality of Vallée-de-la-Gatineau greater draw power to help bolster the role tourism plays in the local economy. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting entrepreneurs who seek to harness promising opportunities and serve as models to the population as a whole," noted Minister Cannon.
"This support from Canada Economic Development has allowed us to move forward with this project. We will now be in a better position to satisfy the precise needs of our business clients in search of venues for conventions as well as of tourists looking to enjoy the Great Outdoors. Nature is undisputably one of most prized assets of the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau," explained Auberge du Draveur owner Gilles Lafrenière.
"The Government of Canada is working to create the kind of economic conditions that encourage businesses to invest and prosper. As well as helping to promote the diversification of the region's economic base, this expansion project will lead to the creation of 10 new jobs within the next year," Minister Cannon added.
Tourism is a promising niche for the Outaouais region, as are high technology and the processing of agri-food and forest products. It is on these priority sectors that Canada Economic Development has decided to focus its development efforts, which impact the Outaouais' urban areas as well as its rural belt.
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Sources:
François Bélisle
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-825-5260, ext. 235
E-mail: francois.belisle@dec-ced.gc.ca
Jean-Philippe Payment
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-953-5646
E-mail: jeanphilippe.payment@hrdsc-rhdsc.gc.ca
