Québec, Quebec, September 14, 2010 – The Patro de Charlesbourg community centre now has new multisport stadium facilities. This announcement was made on the occasion of today’s official inauguration of the new facilities by Daniel Petit, Member of Parliament for Charlesbourg–Haute-Saint-Charles, acting on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, and Michel Pigeon, Member of the Quebec National Assembly for Charlesbourg and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, acting on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The Patro de Charlesbourg’s multisport stadium project involved replacing a natural grass field with an artificial surface and converting the running track into a paved pedestrian trail. It also included building a service pavilion and a storage pavilion with a covered court, and installing about 10 bleacher units, each accommodating 50 spectators, as well as a sports lighting system, main screen and scoreboards.
The Patro de Charlesbourg community centre was founded by Saint-Vincent-de-Paul clerics dedicated to human development, including through sports activities. For some 60 years, the Patro has attracted a diverse clientele aged 4 to 99.
The project, the total eligible cost of which is $3,157,581, was carried out thanks to $2,000,000 in joint funding contributed in equal parts by the governments of Quebec and Canada. The Patro de Charlesbourg assumed the remainder of the project’s costs, or $1,157,581.
“It is a known fact that physical activity has many health and wellness benefits. Through the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, $500 million will be invested by March 31, 2011 in modernizing sports and recreational facilities across the country and therefore in stimulating the economy, creating new jobs and contributing to the population’s health and quality of life. It is in this spirit that the Government of Canada has lent its support to the development of new multipurpose sports facilities at the Patro de Charlesbourg,” explained MP Petit.
“These new facilities, which will be located on a field to be known as Gérard-Chiquette, will serve the interests of several groups, including the City of Québec’s organized sports leagues, the youngsters who frequent the community centre as well as the Cégep de Limoilou and Polyvalente de Charlesbourg sports teams. I am delighted that our governments have joined forces with Patro de Charlesbourg to provide recreational infrastructure that will meet the needs of residents in a sustainable development perspective. In so doing, we are encouraging our citizens to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle,” added MNA Pigeon.
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 Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program and the Government of Quebec’s Programme Infrastructures de loisirs.
The Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan adopted by the federal government in January 2009, is intended to stimulate immediate economic recovery and reduce the short-term impacts of the global economic slowdown. 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.
For further details on the state of advancement of the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, visit www.infrastructures.gouv.qc.ca.
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Sources:
Benoît Fortin
Special Assistant, Communications
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-997-3319
Anne-Marie Mongrain
Political Attaché
Constituency office of the MNA for Charlesbourg
Michel Pigeon
Tel.: 418-644-9240
Information:
Caroline Saint-Pierre
Communications Branch
Department of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy
Tel.: 418-691-2015
