Government of Canada grants $69,500 in funding to Naturalait

Saint-Félicien, Quebec, August 31, 2010 – The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today announced $69,500 in repayable financial assistance to Naturalait through the Community Adjustment Fund for the start-up of a new organic milk processing company.

“This Naturalait project is of key importance to the economic diversification of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Indeed, it will allow the region’s organic milk producers to add value to their product while creating factory and subcontracting jobs. It is precisely to support mobilizing projects like this one that the Government of Canada established the Community Adjustment Fund, a billion-dollar initiative with a budget of nearly $212 million for Quebec alone,” explained the Minister of State.

Naturalait is an association of dairy producers from the Club lait bio du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean whose objective is to transform a portion of their organic-certified milk into homestyle yogurt and thereby maximize the region’s organic dairy processing activities. The non-homogenized pasteurized yogurt will be manufactured on the premises of the micro cheese producer Ferme des Chutes, whose operations are based in Saint-Félicien.

Agri-food is one of the most dynamic sectors of the region’s economy. With Quebec demand for organic products steadily rising, Naturalait is setting its sights on a yogurt with a distinctive flavour and texture to set the company apart from the competition on its target markets of Montréal, Québec and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.

For more on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: www.dec-ced.gc.ca/docs/20100831-vignette-nutralait.jpg

On this picture: The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development (centre), accompanied by Naturalait directors Florent Tremblay, owner of Ferme des Chutes in Saint-Félicien, Daniel Baril, owner of Ferme des Feuilles in Albanel, Daniel Taillon, owner of Ferme Taillon et Fils in Saint-Prime, and Serge Leboeuf, owner of Ferme Patrimoniale in Saint-Augustin (left to right).

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Sources:

Éléonore Côté
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 418-668-5928
Cell.: 418-321-0295
E-mail: eleonore.cote@dec-ced.gc.ca

Benoît Fortin
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 819-997-3732
E-mail: benoit.fortin@dec-ced.gc.ca