Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax, Québec - The Secretary of State (Agriculture) and Member of Parliament for Mégantic-L’Érable, the Honourable Christian Paradis, on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches Region, Laurent Lessard, on behalf of the Deputy Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Regions, Nathalie Normandeau, are pleased to announce that the Municipality of Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax will receive $40,545 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 to the Municipality of Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax. The Municipality will receive a total of $285,539 by the end of 2009 for important infrastructure projects.

“Thanks to its $33-billion Building Canada infrastructure plan, the Government of Canada is contributing to the improvement of public infrastructure everywhere in the country. More than half of these funds, some $17.6 billion, are provided as base funding to meet the needs of municipalities,” said Mr. Paradis. “The funding announced today to the Municipality of Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax, under the Gas Tax Fund agreement, which is part of our Building Canada plan, is a concrete example of the Government of Canada’s commitment to support a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and more prosperous communities in 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 Sainte-Sophie-d’Halifax will now be able to rely on stable annual funding, which will facilitate the planning of the work that needs to be done. The Plan québécois des infrastructures foresees an investment of $30 billion within the next five years, of which $3.15 billion will be used to maintain and improve municipal infrastructure. As indicated in the plan, the repair and modernization of public infrastructure is a priority for the Government of Québec,” said Minister Lessard.

The goal of the 2005 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. The Government of Canada will provide 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).