No. H 026/08
For release - February 1, 2008
PORTAGE-DU-FORT, QUEBEC – The Governments of Canada and Quebec are pleased to announce the signing of the Canada-Quebec Agreement in support of the project to restore the Ottawa Central Railway, evaluated at more than $2.4 million.
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and MP for Pontiac, and Mr. Benoît Pelletier, Minister responsible for the Outaouais Region and MNA for Chapleau, today announced that this agreement represents an investment of more than $1.5 million from the Governments of Canada and Quebec.
"The restoration of shortline railways will generate socio-economic benefits for the regions of Quebec," said Minister Cannon. "This project will provide support to the industries and businesses that use the railway network and will increase the efficiency of the trade corridors in these regions."
"Through these investments, we will be consolidating our railway network, which offers a viable option for the transportation of freight as well as an inter-regional link that will help us face the future with greater confidence. In taking this action, the Government of Quebec has shown its willingness to support economic development in this region, within a perspective of sustainable development," said Minister Pelletier.
The Government of Canada will invest more than $948,000 and the Government of Quebec more than $632,000 over a period of five years in order to support this project, as part of the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the Restoration of Shortline Infrastructure in Quebec. This ambitious program, to which the shortline railways will also be contributing, will generate global investments of more than $75 million over a period of five years. Its purpose is to maintain an efficient railway transport network that is competitive and better integrated with the continental railway network, notably in the principal trade and transportation corridors.
The work will allow the Ottawa Central Railway to upgrade the carrying capacity of its tracks over a distance of 36 kilometres.
The shortlines provide regional railway service, and for local businesses they are essential for trade. These companies run more than 38 per cent of the Quebec railway network, that is, more than 2,300 kilometres of railway. In Quebec, more than 80 per cent of the products shipped over the shortlines are destined for the United States. The merchandise shipped over these regional railroads is mainly wood, paper, pulp, particle board, ore and aluminum. Shortlines thus play an indispensable role in the Quebec economy.
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Contacts:
Karine White
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister responsible for Quebec
613-991-0700
Véronique Milot
Regional Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Outaouais Region and MNA for Chapleau
819-246-4558
Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Jean Armand
Communications Advisor
Ministère des Transports du Québec
418-644-1520, ext. 2567
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at www.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
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