Québec, Quebec, October 4, 2011 – Jean Labranche, President of the Coopérative de solidarité Vallée Bras-du-Nord, Nicole Ménard, Quebec Minister of Tourism, Michel Matte, Member of the National Assembly for Portneuf, Daniel Dion, Mayor of Saint-Raymond, Denis Langlois, Prefect of the Regional County Municipality of Portneuf and member of the Executive Committee of the Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) de la Capitale-Nationale, Michèle Drouin, Director of the Office du tourisme du Québec's strategy, planning and development division, Linda Pelletier, Executive Director of the Centre local de développement de Portneuf, and Frank Aubin, President of the Corporation de développement de Saint-Raymond, took part in today's official inauguration of the Coopérative Vallée Bras-du-Nord's new reception pavilion. The construction of this building is one of the key phases in an expansion project necessitating an overall investment of $1,108,000.
Though unable to attend today's ceremony, the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, hailed the completion of this important project. "The Government of Canada is pleased to have contributed through its Economic Action Plan to this initiative, which promises to bring more visitors to the Vallée Bras-du-Nord recreational tourism centre and thereby help diversify the local economy," said Minister Lebel, noting that the site's already significant drawing power can only be enhanced by this improvement to the Portneuf tourism offering.
Located just north of Saint-Raymond in the heart of a valley bordered by mountains and cliffs and crossed by a winding river with a majestic waterfall, Vallée du Bras-du-Nord offers recreational tourism facilities for the practice of a wide variety of activities, including canoeing, kayaking, canyoneering, mountain biking, hiking and snowshoeing. The new building will enable the cooperative to better meet the needs of its growing clientele and ensure the continued quality of its services.
"I am delighted to be associated with the construction of this new reception pavilion at Vallée Bras-du-Nord. This building is sure to meet the high expectations of the site's ever-growing clientele. Nature tourism is one of Quebec's distinctive products, which is why my department is glad to invest in the improvement of this exceptional site. This project will make it possible to consolidate 15 permanent jobs and create four others, while generating major economic spinoffs for the region as a whole," stated Minister Ménard.
"I am proud of our government's contribution to the development of Vallée Bras-du-Nord, a tourist attraction that is an absolute must for all lovers of the great outdoors. The exceptional beauty of this site is matched only by the equally-exceptional dedication of its promoters," noted MNA Michel Matte.
"This project is in line with the objectives of the Saint-Raymond's tourism development plan, which is why the city, through its development corporation, is pleased to back this important initiative," explained the Mayor of Saint-Raymond.
"The Office du tourisme de Québec is proud to partner in this cooperative project to build a new reception pavilion. Indeed, the number of tourists and day trippers visiting the valley has been growing steadily by about 20% a year, with some 60% of the overnight guests from the Greater Montréal area. This is ample justification for our financial participation in this project, which will help strengthen the power of attraction of this extraordinary site," said Michèle Drouin, Director of the Office du tourisme du Québec's strategy, planning and development division.
"The CRÉ has been a partner in the development of Vallée Bras-du-Nord from the very outset and is happy to continue supporting the solidarity cooperative's efforts to make this already-outstanding site even more appealing. Not only is this project contributing to the economic growth of Portneuf, it is also complementing the actions being taken by the capital region and surrounding RCMs to enrich the offering throughout the entire Québec tourist region," added Denis Langlois, a member of the Executive Committee of the Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) de la Capitale-Nationale and Prefect of the Portneuf RCM.
"Portneuf has earned a solid reputation for the diversity and quality of its tourism offering, particularly in terms of open air activities, which is why we have made this sector one of our tourism development priorities. The Centre local de développement de Portneuf (CLD) is proud to support the large-scale project of such a key attraction as Vallée Bras-du-Nord," said the CLD's Executive Director, Linda Pelletier.
"The completion of this project is an important milestone in our new expansion plan," concluded Jean Labranche, President of the Vallée du Bras-du-Nord cooperative.
A significant portion of this project's cost, or $200,000, has been funded through the Entente de partenariat régional en tourisme de la région touristique de Québec (regional partnership agreement on tourism for the Québec region), with the Quebec Department of Tourism contributing $120,000, the CRÉ de la Capitale-Nationale $60,000 and the Office du tourisme de Québec $20,000. Other financial partners include the Portneuf CLD ($65,000), the Corporation de développement de Saint-Raymond ($55,000), Canada Economic Development ($50,000), and the Portneuf RCM (Rural Pact) ($30,000). The Vallée du Bras-du-Nord solidarity cooperative, for its part, invested $40,000 in the project.
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Sources:
Gabriela Quiroz
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Tourism
Tel.: 418-528-8063
Alain Tardif
General Manager – City of Saint-Raymond
Municipality of Saint-Raymond
Tel.: 418-337-2202, ext. 102
Hélène Lapointe
Communications Advisor
Conférence régionale des élus de la Capitale-Nationale
Tel.: 418-529-8475, ext. 223
Frédéric Asselin
Executive Director
Vallée Bras-du-Nord, Coop de solidarité
Tel.:418-337-3635
Sylvie Walter
Communications Advisor
Office du tourisme de Québec
Tel.:418-641-6654, ext. 5482
Pierre Floréa
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514- 496-1282
E-mail: pierre.florea@tc.gc.ca
