Government of Canada Invests in Culture, Heritage, and Official Languages in the Regions of Quebec

ST-HYACINTHE, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 15, 2011) - Culture, heritage, and official languages are thriving in Quebec, thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada in a total of 156 projects. This was announced today by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, in the presence of leaders of the arts and culture community in the Montérégie region.

The funding is intended to support a wide range of projects, including festivals, a diverse range of performances, commemorative events, exhibitions, theatre plays and much more, in both official languages.

"With Canada's economic recovery still fragile, we are focused on creating jobs and economic growth in all regions of Quebec," said Minister Moore. "We are proud to support our artists because supporting arts and culture is vital to our economy."

The Government of Canada has provided total funding of $14,707,154 through eight programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage: the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Canada Arts Training Fund, the Canada Cultural Investment Fund (Strategic Initiatives), Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage, the Official Languages Support Programs, the Canada Interactive Fund and the Museums Assistance Program. For details about the projects, see the attached backgrounder.

(This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Newsroom.)

A backgrounder is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Can_Heritage_0315.docx