Government of Canada Lends Financial Support to Les Bois G.L.A.

BARRAUTE, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 29, 2011) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, announces that Les Bois G.L.A. has been granted financial assistance to purchase specialized equipment and modernize its plant operations.

"The Government of Canada supports enterprises that, like Les Bois G.L.A., are doing everything they can to bolster production and improve their productivity," said Minister Lebel.

Les Bois G.L.A., a family-run company operating in the secondary wood transformation sector, specializes in the manufacture of handling pallet components, core boxes and battens.

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This $350,000 repayable contribution has been granted through the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE).

The TISQFE was brought into force in June 2010 to help communities affected by the forestry crisis diversify their economies in order to ensure their growth and create and maintain employment. The initiative's goal is also to support small and medium-sized businesses in these communities in their efforts to secure their viability and sustainable development.

This past July 14, the Government of Canada announced its intention to allocate an additional $20 million over two years to support the Quebec silvicultural sector in 2011 and 2012.

This measure is one of several put in place by the Government of Canada in the past months to counteract the effects of the forest crisis. Others include, for example, the Community Adjustment Fund, with its $1 billion budget over two years to mitigate the impacts of the crisis, the $1 billion granted to the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program to help enterprises carry out environmentally-friendly projects and the $230 million invested, in collaboration with the Government of Quebec, for silvicultural work and the restoration of bridges and culverts on multi-use forest roads. Workers have also received their fair share of support, with the Government of Canada introducing some of the most generous measures in history to help them through the economic crisis.

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