Government of Canada grants $267,500 in funding for two strategic projects in Pontiac

June 19, 2009

Bristol, Quebec, June 19, 2009 −Acting on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister responsible for the Outaouais region and Member of Parliament for Pontiac, today announced the awarding of $267,500 in total non-repayable contributions to two Pontiac organizations, namely to the Corporation de développement économique du Pontiac for sectoral plans and to the Société d’aide au développement de la collectivité de Pontiac (SADC Pontiac) for a railway line study.

Minister Cannon applauded the unprecedented mobilization and coordination that have characterized local efforts to overcome the economic crisis. “The world recession is a powerful reminder of the need for Quebec’s communities to find ways to diversify their local economies. The two projects announced today are of strategic importance in that their aim is to provide Pontiac with the tools needed to revitalize its economy. They are also entirely in line with the strategy our government has put in place through Canada’s Economic Action Plan to bring about our country’s rapid economic recovery,” explained Minister Cannon.   

The Corporation de développement économique du Pontiac will therefore receive $217,500 in funding for the hiring of skilled individuals to adapt the Pontiac’s global development strategy into short-term action plans for the forestry, agri-food and tourism sectors and then implement these sectoral plans. This project will extend over a two-year period and necessitate an overall investment of $464,000.

The SADC Pontiac, for its part, will be given $50,000 in assistance to conduct a study on the economic, recreational tourism and social potential of operating the Beachburg Sub railway line. Running between Pembroke and Ottawa, this line connects with a 30-kilometre stretch of track extending from Norway Bay to Portage-du-Fort, in Pontiac. The study, the result of a broad regional consensus, will serve to identify the development opportunities associated with freight and passenger (commuter and traveller) rail transport services between Ottawa and rural Pontiac. Developing this railway service would help draw manufacturing companies to the area and encourage resumption of industrial activities that have been temporarily suspended. Completion of this study will require an overall investment of $120,000.