Montréal, Quebec, September 28, 2009 – Acting on behalf of Michelle Couchesne, Quebec's Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, Filomena Rotiroti, Member of the National Assembly for Jeanne-Mance–Viger, today joined the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, in announcing $2,029,087 in funding to the Borough of Saint-Léonard to bring the Hébert stadium up to standard and develop a year-round high-performance synthetic surfaced soccer field.
The governments of Quebec and Canada are both contributing to this project, whose cost totals $4,082,445. Funding from the Government of Quebec is $1,029,087 while the federal contribution is $1,000,000. The Borough of Saint-Léonard completes the funding with an investment of $2,053,358.
The planned work involves replacing the existing synthetic playing surface by the latest generation synthetic surface, and adding an inflatable structure that will be used from November to April.
"I am very proud to participate in the announcement of such a large-scale project," said Ms. Rotiroti. "The installation of this new synthetic surface and inflatable structure will not only benefit Saint-Léonard Borough residents but teams from other regions as well. A host of sports are held here, like the TSI cup, the Saint-Léonard soccer tournament, the Festival de Bourassa and the Festi-tour de Montréal-Nord. I want to salute the efforts undertaken by Saint-Léonard Borough in bringing about this great project, to which we are pleased to provide funding. Access to a soccer field that is open year-round will greatly assist in developing our athletes and encouraging the population to be physically active."
"Many of our recreational facilities have become outdated and need to be renovated. But in a recessionary period like the one we are experiencing, it is difficult for most communities to invest in such projects. Our Recreational Infrastructure Canada program, implemented under Canada's Economic Action Plan, devotes $500 million over two years to the modernization of sports facilities Canada-wide. Support for the Hébert stadium is a tangible example of our government's action. I am delighted that the project being announced today will be carried out because it will help raise the quality of life of, Saint-Léonard Borough citizens," said Minister of State Denis Lebel.
The governments of Canada and Quebec recently signed an agreement to accelerate the execution of projects to modernize and repair recreational facilities in Quebec over two years. To that end, the two levels of government are each contributing 37.4 million to this project, under an arrangement whereby both governments provide funding of recreational infrastructure projects under cost-sharing partnerships with the municipality or the organization concerned in order to generate greater financial leverage, as is the case with the other infrastructure programs.
The investment announced today ties in with the Programme de soutien aux installations sportives et récréatives of the Government of Quebec's Fonds pour le développement du sport et de l'activité physique and the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program.
The Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, part of Canada's Economic Action Plan adopted in January 2009, is intended to stimulate immediate economic recovery and reduce the short-term impacts of the global recession. Government investment in this area will help create new jobs and improve the population's health and quality of life. For more on this plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
The Fonds pour le développement du sport et de l'activité physique was established by the Government of Quebec to provide the province's regions with better access to new and improved sports facilities in order to promote healthier lifestyles among their residents. For further details on this fund, visit www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/fondsDeveloppement/.
- 30 -
Sources:
Kim Ledoux
Press Secretary to the Quebec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports
Tel.: 418-644-0664
Simon Bachand
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 613-996-6236
E-mail: simon.bachand@dec-ced.gc.ca
