The Municipality of Saint-Pierre-Baptiste Receives an Initial Payment of $86,956 from the Transfer of a Portion of Federal Gasoline Excise Tax Revenues and the Government of Québec’s Contribution

October 10, 2007

Saint-Pierre-Baptiste, Québec - The Secretary of State for Agriculture and Member of Parliament for Mégantic-l’Érable, the Honorable Christian Paradis, on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, as well as Deputy Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions of Québec, Nathalie Normandeau, announced that the Municipality of Saint-Pierre-Baptiste will receive $86,956 under the federal-provincial agreement on the transfer of a portion of federal gasoline excise tax revenues and the Government of Québec’s contribution. This is the first payment for the Municipality of Saint-Pierre-Baptiste, which will receive a total of $271,741 over the next four years for important infrastructure projects.

“Offering access to quality infrastructure is an important priority for the Government of Canada,” said Mr. Paradis. “This is why we are moving ahead with our “Building Canada” infrastructure plan. I am pleased that the Municipality of Saint-Pierre-Baptiste can address its infrastructure needs thanks to the financing offered under the agreement on gasoline excise tax. Projects such as these demonstrate once again how open federalism practised by the Government of Canada can contribute to improving the quality of life for residents in Québec municipalities.”

“The repair and modernization of public infrastructure is an important priority for the Government of Québec. The funding announced today is a reflection of our commitment to improve the quality of life of residents. With this agreement, the Municipality of Saint-Pierre-Baptiste will now be able to rely on stable annual funding, which will facilitate planning the work that needs to be done,” said Mrs. Normandeau.

The goal of the Canada-Québec Agreement is to provide funding for the renewal of municipal and local infrastructure, and specifically for municipal drinking water, wastewater, local road system and public transit infrastructure, within a context of sustainable development. Canada’s new Government will pay the Government of Québec a total of $1.34 billion over five years, to which Québec will add $475.7 million, for a grand total of $1.8 billion. Including contributions from municipalities, $2.3 billion will go toward renewing municipal infrastructure. The funds will be administered by the Société de financement des infrastructures locales du Québec (SOFIL).