Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, March 18, 2008 – Jacques Gourde, Member of Parliament for Lotbinière–Chutes-de-la-Chaudière and Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, today announced that Modus FX, a young Sainte-Thérèse firm specializing in postproduction and digital special effects, has been granted $100,000 in repayable funding for the acquisition of strategic equipment.
The recent rise in major feature filming in the Montréal region has revealed a shortage of skilled labour in the field. In order to meet the growing demand for qualified digital craftspeople in the industry, Modus FX intends to hire 10 people, including a number of experts, over the next year to enable the firm to break into the Canadian, European and United States markets.
"Having a new-economy enterprise like Modus FX set up shop in the Basses-Laurentides Regional County Municipality will help bolster job prospects in the region and ensure the availability of services that are in extremely high demand within the American and European film sector. This firm's project is entirely consistent with the objectives of our Advantage Canada plan, whose goal is to build an economy that stands apart by virtue of its innovativeness," stated Mr. Gourde.
"It is not that easy to find financial investors interested in co-financing the operating costs of any new business," explained the President of Modus FX, Marc Bourbonnais. "One has to be able to convince them of the viability of the project. Support from partners like Canada Economic Development is particularly valuable in this regard, as it gives us greater credibility among our customers and helps us build on our image as an innovative and dynamic enterprise."
This funding to Modus FX has been awarded through Canada Economic Development's Business and Regional Growth program, whose goal is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in their efforts to become more competitive by helping them raise their innovative capabilities, acquire leading-edge equipment and develop new markets.
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Sources:
Nathalie Lévesque
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-283-0306
Cell.: 514-966-0661
E-mail: nathalie.levesque@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@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca
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