Hotel Roquemont Receives $196,000 in Funding From Government of Canada to Increase Lodging Capacity

SAINT-RAYMOND, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 1, 2011) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, announces the awarding of $196,000 in repayable funding to Hôtel Roquemont. Granted through the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE), this financial assistance will enable the establishment to add 14 new rooms, thereby bolstering the tourism drawing power of the Portneuf Regional County Municipality (RCM).

"The Government of Canada is pleased to support this project, which is sure to have a beneficial impact on related sectors of activity while promoting tourism and furthering the economic diversification of a region that has been weakened by the crisis in the forest sector," explained Minister of State Lebel.

By expanding its lodging supply, Hôtel Roquemont will be in a good position to attract a greater number of guests, particularly from outside Quebec. Consequently, this project will help keep tourists in Saint-Raymond and surrounding areas for longer periods of time and create a positive effect on employment in the Portneuf RCM.

About the TISQFE

Brought into force last June, the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies was established to help communities affected by the forestry crisis diversify their economies in order to secure their development and create and maintain employment. The measure's aim is also to support the viability and sustainable growth of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in these communities.

"The TISQFE is working very well. I am delighted that we are well on our way to reaching our goal of investing $50 million in Quebec in the first year of this initiative," added the Minister of State.

This measure is one of many put in place by the Government of Canada in recent 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 Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program, toward which $1 billion has been granted to the help enterprises carry out environmentally-friendly projects, and the investment of $230 million 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 benefited from 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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