Investment of $6,568,000 for wastewater treatment in Sainte-Clotilde-de-Châteauguay

Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF)

Saint-Urbain-Premier, November 17, 2006 – Acting on behalf of Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec`s Ministre des Affaires municipales et des Régions, André Chenail, Member of the National Assembly for Huntingdon, today joined the Honourable Michael M Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister responsible for the Montreal Region, acting on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, in announcing that the Parish of Sainte-Clotilde-de-Châteauguay will receive $4,723,846 in government assistance under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF).

This assistance will go toward the installation of a wastewater collection, interception and treatment system. The planned work will include the construction of 6 km of sanitary sewer lines, a wastewater pumping system and an aerated pond treatment plant in concrete with vertical walls. An outfall pipe will deliver the treated wastewater to the Norton stream. This project, geared to eliminate individual wastewater discharge systems which threaten drinking water quality, will benefit more than 900 residents.

Completion of this work will require a total investment of $6,568,000, eligible under Component 1 of the MRIF. The Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada will thus each contribute $2,361,923 toward the project, for a total of $4,723,846 in combined government funding, while the Parish of Sainte-Clotilde-de-Châteauguay will assume $1,844,154 of the project's costs.

The Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund is a $390 million cost-sharing initiative of the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada to help finance municipal infrastructure projects in Quebec. With the financial participation of municipalities, this initiative could result in investments of nearly $576 million for infrastructure work in the province. The objectives of the MRIF are to upgrade community infrastructure, improve the quality of the environment, promote long-term economic growth and enhance citizens' quality of life.

Implementation of the MRIF in Quebec is the result of a joint agreement signed by the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada in July 2005. The program, which is in force until March 31, 2010, is administered by Quebec's Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions. Canada Economic Development is responsible for delivering the federal portion of the MRIF on behalf of the Government of Canada.

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Source:

Johanne Levesque
Communications Advisor
Communications Branch
Ministère des Affaires Municipales et des Régions
514-873-6910

Information:

Jonathan Trudeau
Press Secretary
Office of the Ministre des Affaires municipales et des Régions
418-691-2050

Roxane Marchand
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn
Canada Economic Development
819-953-5646
613-816-5094

Jean Décary
Communications Advisor
Canada Economic Development
514-283-2234