Total government investment of $1,903,150 in Brossard recreational facilities

Canada-Quebec Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program Agreement

Brossard, Quebec, July 22, 2010 – The City of Brossard now has two new artificial turf soccer fields on its territory. This announcement was made on the occasion of today's official inauguration of the new facilities by the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, and Fatima Houda-Pepin, First Vice-President of the Quebec National Assembly and Member for La Pinière, acting on behalf of Laurent Lessard, Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy.

The project submitted by the City of Brossard centred on the conversion of two existing natural-surface sports fields in Illinois Park into artificial turf soccer fields. The work mainly involved laying a synthetic surface over both fields, pouring concrete footings for the installation of players' benches and soccer nets, setting up bleachers capable of accommodating 720 spectators, installing a lighting system and expanding the parking area. This initiative comes in response to the growing demand for additional space for the practice of soccer in Brossard.

These specialized surfaces are better suited to variations in temperature and will ensure the city's many athletes and fans extended hours of use during the playing season. The versatility of the synthetic surfaces will also allow the fields to be used for a wide variety of sports and recreational activities. This project will benefit more than 73,000 people and help promote Brossard's municipal soccer field network.

Every year, the city hosts the "Challenge Brossard" international soccer tournament. These new fields will help enhance player safety while making it possible for the city to hold other events to bolster its visibility.

The project, which required a total eligible investment of $2,854,725, was carried out thanks to $1,903,150 in joint funding contributed in equal part by the governments of Quebec and Canada. The City of Brossard assumed the remaining third, or $951,575, of the project’s costs.

“Many of our recreational facilities are in need of renovation and improvement. But restoring public infrastructure involves costs that municipalities are simply unable to carry on their own. That is why the Government of Canada introduced the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, through which $500 million will be invested over two years in the modernization of our sports and recreational facilities across the country. I am delighted to see this project come to fruition in that I know it will significantly improve Brossard residents' quality of life,” explained Minister Lebel.

“With the completion of this highly-anticipated project, I am pleased our governments have joined forces with the City of Brossard to upgrade recreational infrastructure in a way that meets the public's needs in a sustainable development perspective. These sports facilities have been given a major makeover! In this way, we hope to encourage citizens to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle,” added Fatima Houda-Pepin.

The governments of Canada and Quebec signed an agreement to accelerate the execution of recreational infrastructure projects in Quebec over the next two years. To that end, the Government of Canada will invest $76 million and the Government of Quebec at least that amount in recreational infrastructure projects carried out in cost-sharing partnership with municipal administrations or local organizations. These investments are thus expected to generate greater financial leverage, as is the case with the other infrastructure programs.

The funding announced today has been awarded through the Government of Canada’s Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program and the Government of Quebec’s Programme Infrastructures de loisirs.

The Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan adopted by the federal government in January 2009, is intended to stimulate immediate economic recovery and reduce the short-term impacts of the global recession. Government investment in this area will help create new jobs and improve the population’s health and quality of life. For more on this plan, see www.actionplan.gc.ca.

For further details on the state of advancement of the Quebec Infrastructure Plan, visit www.infrastructures.gouv.qc.ca.

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Sources:

Céline Vaillancourt
Political Attaché
Riding Office of the MNA for La Pinière
Tel.: 450-678-0611

Simon Bachand
Special Assistant, Communications
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 613-996-6236

Information:

Caroline Saint-Pierre
Communications Branch
Department of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy
Tel.: 418-691-2015