Government of Canada allocates $10 million for renewal of funding agreements with Quebec’s regional and sectoral tourism associations

Gaspé, Quebec, March 16, 2009 −The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today announced the allocation of $10 million for the renewal of funding agreements with Quebec’s Associations touristiques régionales (ATRs) and Associations touristiques sectorielles (ATSs), the province’s regional and sector-based tourism associations.

These funds will serve to finance ATR and ATS commercialization activities on markets outside Quebec over the next three years in an effort to generate structuring economic spinoffs for the province’s communities and help accelerate their economic diversification.

“This past January and February, I had the opportunity to tour the regions of Quebec and meet with stakeholders actively involved in the economic life of their communities. We used the comments that emerged from these meetings to help guide us in making informed and enlightened decisions. Canada Economic Development has consequently brought certain changes to its existing programs and implemented a number of new measures, like the one we are announcing today, to more effectively meet the needs of the regions and better prepare them for the challenges of this period of economic turbulence. This initiative is in line with our government’s Economic Action Plan, which sets our measures aimed at stimulating the national economy, mitigating the impact of the global recession on Canadians and ensuring the long-term growth of the regions of Quebec,” explained the Minister of State.

Minister of State Lebel will be setting out on another tour this week to announce the other measures the Government of Canada has put in place to create the kind of climate that will help Canadian businesses and families better weather the current economic storm.

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Sources:

Karina Gagnon
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 418-368-6048 or 1-866-368-0044
E-mail: karina.gagnon@dec-ced.gc.ca

Éric Lefebvre
Senior Assistant, Communication
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Cellular: 613-608-7906
E-mail: eric.lefebvre@dec-ced.gc.ca