Canada-Quebec investment of $3,840,868 to replace water and sewer infrastructure in Municipality of Saint-Jacques

Building Canada Fund – Quebec, Communities Component

Saint-Jacques, Quebec, July 13, 2010 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today joined Guy Ouellette, Member of the Quebec National Assembly and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Revenue, acting on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, in announcing that the Municipality of Saint-Jacques will receive $3,840,868 in joint government financial assistance under the Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec to replace water and sewer infrastructure.

Saint-Jacques’s project consists of replacing water and sewer pipelines on Saint-Jacques and Du Collège streets to solve wastewater backup problems in this sector. This work will be carried out jointly with the Quebec Department of Transport.

“Replacement of water and sewer pipes in Saint-Jacques will benefit the city’s residents and businesses alike. By funding this project, we are seeing to it that the population enjoys the high quality of life for which our country is famous. Indeed, the Government of Canada is committed to equipping every community with modern facilities to ensure citizens’ health and safety. The renewal of public infrastructure is part of a broad action plan that will enable us to thrive and prosper in a healthy environment,” noted Minister of State Lebel.

“In supporting this project, the Government of Quebec is moving forward to ensure the province’s municipalities have infrastructure that meets their unique realities while fostering sustainable development. By injecting new capital into the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, our government is looking to accelerate the execution of numerous infrastructure projects throughout the province, like this one in Saint-Jacques, in an effort to improve Quebecers’ well-being, create jobs and promote a high-performance economy. In this way, we are leaving the municipality a legacy of quality infrastructure with which to face the challenges of the future,” stated Guy Ouellette.

Completion of this project will necessitate an overall eligible investment of $5,761,300. The governments of Quebec and Canada will each contribute $1,920,434 toward the work, for a total of $3,840,868 in combined government funding, while the Municipality of Saint-Jacques will assume the remaining third, or $1,920,432, of the project’s costs.

The Communities Component of the Building Canada Fund – Quebec is a cost-sharing initiative aimed at funding infrastructure projects in communities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. These communities are thus able to use this assistance to improve infrastructure that is in major need of revitalization, including water treatment plants, water supply systems and cultural and sports centres.

For provinces, like Quebec, that have committed all of their funding under the Communities Component, the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides for up to $500 million in additional funding for projects that will be completed by March 31, 2011.

Representing an unprecedented funding commitment by the Government of Canada, the Building Canada Fund – Quebec provides stable and predictable funding to support infrastructure projects. In Quebec, nearly $4 billion will be allocated to that end.

The contribution from the Government of Canada has been awarded through Canada’s Economic Action Plan. To learn more about this plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

For more information on the Quebec government’s Quebec Infrastructure Plan, see www.infrastructures.gouv.qc.ca.

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Sources:

Ève Cardinal
Special Assistant, Communications
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-997-3319

Valérie Sauvé
Regional Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports and Minister responsible for the Laval, Laurentides and Lanaudière regions
Tel.: 450-689-5516