Napierville, Quebec, April 8, 2010 – The Louis-Cyr regional sports centre will soon be renovated and brought up to standard with the financial assistance of the governments of Quebec and Canada, today jointly announced the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, and Stéphane Billette, Member of the National Assembly for Huntingdon, acting on behalf of Michelle Courchesne, Quebec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports.
Necessitating an overall investment of $786,532, this project will be carried out thanks to $381,891 in combined government funding, with the Centre sportif régional Louis-Cyr Inc. assuming the remainder of the costs.
The project involves relocating the centre’s locker rooms and service facilities (toilets and showers) in order to enlarge the rooms on the ground floor. A multi-use hall will also be built on the second floor for dance, aerobics and karate classes and certain sections of the boards around the skating rink will be replaced.
“Many of our recreational facilities are outdated and in need of renovation. But restoring public infrastructure entails costs that municipalities are unable to assume on their own. That is why the Government of Canada introduced the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, through which $500 million will be invested over two years in the modernization of our sports and recreational facilities across the country. I am pleased to see this project come to fruition in that it promises to improve quality of life for the entire Napierville population,” explained Minister of State Lebel.
“This investment is terrific news for the region. The sports centre attracts a great many people from Napierville and the surrounding areas and I am sure that, once these improvements have been made, even more will be encouraged to come to the facility and get active. That is the objective the governments of Quebec and Canada are after in joining forces to upgrade as many recreational facilities as possible in every region of Quebec,” added Stéphane Billette.
The governments of Canada and Quebec signed an agreement to accelerate the execution of recreational infrastructure projects in Quebec by March 31, 2011. To that end, the Government of Canada will invest $76 million and the Government of Quebec at least that amount in recreational infrastructure projects carried out in cost-sharing partnership with municipal administrations or local organizations. These investments are thus expected to generate greater financial leverage, as is the case with the other infrastructure programs.
The funding announced today has been awarded through 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 through the Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program.
About the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program
Established under the economic action plan adopted by the federal government in January 2009, the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program is aimed at stimulating immediate economic recovery and reducing 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, see www.actionplan.gc.ca.
About the Fonds pour le développement du sport et de l’activité physique
The Fonds pour le développement du sport et de l’activité physique was created by the Government of Quebec to ensure all of the province’s regions access to new and improved sports facilities in order to promote healthier lifestyles among their populations. For further details on this initiative, visit http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca.
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Sources:
Tamara Davis
Press Secretary
Office of the 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
