Technology gateway experimentation and development project

Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund

Trois-Rivières, Quebec, April 12, 2010 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today joined Danielle St-Amand, Member of the National Assembly for Trois-Rivières, acting on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, in announcing that the City of Trois-Rivières will receive $100,000 in joint government financial assistance under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) to carry out a technology gateway experimentation and development project.

Establishment of these generic gateways will help ensure better communication between most of the expert systems used in the municipality’s corporate environment. Management of the water, sewer and road network as well as the system for producing intervention plans are a few examples.

Completion of this project will necessitate an overall eligible investment of $150,000 under component 2.0 of the MRIF. As such, the governments of Quebec and Canada will each contribute $50,000 toward the work, for a total of $100,000 in combined government funding, while the City of Trois-Rivières will assume the remaining third, or $50,000, of the project’s costs.

The Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund is a cost-sharing initiative of the Government of Quebec and Government of Canada that makes $470 million in funding available to Quebec municipalities and non-governmental organizations. With the financial participation of these municipalities and organizations, this initiative could result in the execution of more than $700 million in infrastructure work. The objectives of the MRIF are to improve community infrastructure, the quality of the environment and citizens’ quality of life, and to promote long-term economic growth.

The program is administered by the Quebec Department of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy. Canada Economic Development is responsible for delivering the federal portion of the MRIF on behalf of the Government of Canada.

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Sources:

Marianne Méthot
Political Advisor
Constituency office of the MNA for Trois-Rivières
Tel.: 819-371-6901

Communications Branch
Department of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy
Tel.: 514-873-6903

Information:

Simon Bachand
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 613-996-6236