Drummondville, Quebec, August 28, 2011 – Acting on behalf of Line Beauchamp, Quebec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and Minister responsible for the Centre-du-Québec Region, joined the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, ’Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Quebec for Quebec Regions, in announcing the inauguration of the new Drummondville sports complex.
“The Drummondville sports complex will benefit the community in many ways: it is sure to improve the quality of life of Drummondville residents and the sports associations that use it,” commented Minister Lebel.
“This project is a real success story. The new complex is bound to delight sports enthusiasts throughout the region. The Government of Quebec is pleased to invest in sports and recreational facilities that encourage citizens to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Drummondville residents are fortunate to be able to benefit from a state-of-the-art soccer-football field, a one-of-a-kind track in the region, as well as a new service building,” said Mr. Lessard.
Nearly $2.4 million was invested in developing this outdoor multisport complex, of which $1.1 million was contributed in equal parts by the governments of Quebec and Canada. The Des Chênes school board and the City and the CEGEP of Drummondville assumed the remainder of the costs. The complex, located alongside the Jean‑Raimbault school, includes a lighted artificial turf soccer-football field, the only eight-lane running track in the entire Centre-du-Québec region, and a service building.
The governments of Canada and Quebec signed an agreement to accelerate the execution of recreational infrastructure projects. To that end, the Government of Canada is investing $76 million and the Government of Quebec at least that amount. The funding for this project was awarded through the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program and 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.
The economic action plan adopted by the federal government in January 2009 and under which the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program falls has helped offset the impacts of the global economic downturn. Government investments in recreational infrastructure have contributed to the creation of jobs and improved quality of life for Canadians. For more on this plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
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 fund, see www.mels.gouv.qc.ca.
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Sources:
Dave Leclerc
Press Secretary
Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports
Tel.: 418-644-0664
Sylvain Bourassa
Press Secretary
Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy
Tel.: 418-691-2050
Benoît Fortin
Special Assistant, Communications
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-997-3319
