Lac-Megantic, Quebec – The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, and Laurent Lessard, Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, together with Johanne Gonthier, Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic-Compton, are pleased to announce joint financial support for 24 projects in Quebec, under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. With the financial participation of municipalities and private not-for-profit organizations, a total investment of $181.7 million will enable the completion of this work.

“Projects such as the construction of a sports and multi-purpose centre in Lac-Megantic are good examples of the positive impact our Infrastructure Stimulus Fund is having on the lives of Quebecers,” said Minister Paradis. “Today's announcement demonstrates our government's commitment to work with the Government of Quebec to speed up the start of infrastructure work and stimulate the economy. In Quebec and in Canada, our government is determined to maintain and create jobs to rebuild our economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians through sound, reliable, state-of-the-art technology.”

“These investments bear witness to Quebec's commitment to quickly implement the vast undertaking to update our public infrastructure, as put forward by the Quebec infrastructure plan, le Plan québecois des infrastructures,” said Minister Lessard. “In proposing this plan, the government moved swiftly to provide Quebec with an advantage. With the support of the federal government, we are now able to accelerate the completion of work in order to support economic activity and jobs throughout our regions,” the minister continued.

“I am thrilled that the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund will be launched in the riding I represent in the National Assembly. The efforts of the government of Canada and Quebec, combined with the participation of municipalities and private not-for-profit organizations will directly stimulate prosperity in our regions, while ensuring the sustainability of our infrastructure for ourselves and for future generations,” declared Member Gonthier.

Approved projects include the construction of a multi-purpose centre in Lac-Megantic, in the Eastern Townships; the improvement of tracks for the Dorion-Rigaud, Delson-Candiac and Blainville-St. Jerome commuter trains; and the construction of theatre in Saint-Georges de Beauce, in Chaudière-Appalaches. In addition, the bicycle path network of Jonquiere and the integration link of Véloroute des Bleuets will also be improved.

The Government of Canada's contribution to these projects comes from the new $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, part of Canada's Economic Action Plan announced in the January 2009 Budget. The Government of Canada is committed to invest $936 million from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund in projects in Quebec.

The federal and provincial governments will each cover half of the eligible costs of provincial projects, whereas for municipal or agency projects, the distribution share of costs among the three levels of governments could vary.

The Quebec government's contribution is being made under the Plan québécois des infrastructures, which was expanded in January 2009 and now has a budget of nearly $42 billion to be spent on infrastructure renewal in Quebec over the next five years.