Hamilton, Ontario, January 23, 2013 – Hamilton residents are celebrating the completion of the new Westmount Recreation Centre, the biggest facility of its kind in the city.
At 50,000-square feet, the state-of-the-art building is a multi-purpose, fully accessible complex that offers a lap pool, gymnasium, youth zone, seniors' space, three multi-purpose rooms, a meeting room and a fitness and dance studio.
"The Westmount Recreation Centre offers residents of all ages the chance to enjoy their favourite pastimes in a great new facility,"
said David Sweet, Member of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale. "Our Government is proud to invest in infrastructure projects that create local jobs, help the economy grow and encourage Canadians to stay healthy and active."
"Ontario invests in projects like this one not only to create jobs and stimulate local economies, but even more importantly, to improve the quality of life for Hamilton families,"
said Ted McMeekin, Member of Provincial Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale. "This dynamic community hub will benefit local residents for many years to come."
"I would like to thank the federal and provincial governments for their ongoing support and investment in Hamilton's recreation infrastructure,"
said Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina. "We want to make sure our children and their families have the best recreational facilities possible, but we couldn't do it without the help of our Government partners."
The new facility will deliver numerous benefits for residents. The new pool, program areas, fitness facilities and youth and seniors' spaces will ensure that users have access to exceptional recreational programs close to home, and will encourage residents to maintain healthy and active lives. The meeting and multi-purpose spaces will also enable local groups to host cultural and community events.
The Government of Canada contributed $3.85 million and the Province of Ontario is contributing up to $4.7 million through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. The City of Hamilton contributed the balance of the total project cost of $21 million.
Canada's Economic Action Plan promotes new opportunities for growth, job creation and long-term prosperity. Strengthening infrastructure across the country is an important part of this plan. Thanks to the Government of Canada's leadership and our strong economic and financial fundamentals, the Canadian economy has recovered from the global recession better than most other industrialized countries. Canada has been a leader among G-7 countries throughout the recovery with more than 922,000 net new jobs created since July 2009.
This project supports Building Together, the Government of Ontario's long-term infrastructure plan to repair, rebuild and renew the province's roads and highways, bridges, public transit, schools and postsecondary institutions, hospitals and courthouses. Since 2003, Ontario has invested approximately $75 billion in infrastructure. Building modern, efficient infrastructure has created or preserved close to 100,000 jobs each year, on average, making Ontario's economy more productive and improving quality of life, now and in the future.
For additional information about federal investments in infrastructure and to stay up-to-date with Web feeds, visit Infrastructure Canada's web site.
To find out what the Government of Canada is doing to promote jobs, growth and prosperity, visit Canada's Economic Action Plan web site.
For more information on how Ontario is revitalizing its infrastructure, visit the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure web site.
Contacts:
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure
416-325-0781
Chris Herstek, Director of District Recreation Operations
City of Hamilton
905-546-2424 extension 4689
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Or toll-free 1-877-250-7154
