Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec, July 17, 2009 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development and Member of Parliament for Roberval–Lac-Saint-Jean, today joined Serge Simard, Quebec’s Ministre délégué aux Ressources naturelles et à la Faune and Ministre responsable de la région du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, acting on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Ministre des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, in announcing that the City of Dolbeau-Mistassini will receive $3,631,288 in joint government funding under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec for the renovation of two arenas.
This project involves carrying out structural repairs to and modernizing the temperature control systems of the Dolbeau and Mistassini district arenas in order to make these buildings more energy efficient. The work on the Dolbeau arena will consist mainly of installing a heat recovery system and heating system in the stands and of renovating the main entrance area and parking lot. Upgrades to the Mistassini arena will include replacing the roof and exterior siding and bringing the ice cooling system up to standard. These improvements will ensure both buildings’ compliance with the latest environmental standards.
“These two arenas will be given a real facelift. Once the work is complete, the population of Dolbeau-Mistassini will have access to more comfortable, energy efficient facilities that are better tailored to the practice of sports. The importance of having modern public infrastructure has already been well demonstrated. That is why the Government of Canada is proud to join forces with the Government of Quebec in providing concrete support to a wide range of projects dedicated to improving the infrastructure that is essential to the well-being of our communities,” stated Minister Lebel.
“In supporting this major project, the Government of Quebec is moving forward to ensure the province’s municipalities have infrastructure that suits their unique realities while fostering sustainable development, a key element of any modern, wealth-building economy. By injecting new capital into the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, our government is looking to accelerate the execution of numerous infrastructure projects throughout the province in an effort to improve the well-being of Quebecers, create jobs and promote a high-performance economy. Our government wants to leave Quebec municipalities a legacy of quality infrastructure with which to face the challenges of the future,” added Minister Simard.
The governments of Quebec and Canada will each contribute $1,815,644 toward this work, for a total of $3,631,288 in combined government funding, while the City of Dolbeau-Mistassini will itself assume $1,815,645 of the project’s costs.
The Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec is a cost-sharing initiative aimed at funding the execution of infrastructure projects in communities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. These communities are thus able to use this assistance to improve infrastructure that is in major need of revitalization, including water treatment plants, water supply systems and cultural and sports centres.
An unprecedented funding commitment on the part of the Government of Canada, the Building Canada Fund – Quebec provides stable and predictable funding to support infrastructure projects. In Quebec, nearly $4 billion will be allocated to that end.
For further details on the Building Canada Fund – Quebec or the process for submitting a funding application, see www.buildingcanada-chantierscanada.gc.ca and www.mamrot.gouv.qc.ca/ .
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Sources:
Jean-Philippe Payment
Special Assistant
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-496-1282
Nadia Marceau
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 418-668-4602
Sylvain Bourassa
Press Secretary
Office of the Ministre des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire
Tel.: 418-691-2050
Johanne Levesque
Communications Advisor
Communications Branch
Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire
Tel.: 514-873-6910
