Techeol Inc. Receives Government of Canada Assistance to Continue Its Development in Wind Energy Sector

SAYABEC, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Jan. 31, 2012) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, today announced that Bas-Saint-Laurent enterprise, Techéol Inc., has been given financial assistance that has enabled it to acquire the equipment required for its growth and development.

"The Government of Canada supports enterprises which participate in communities' economic diversification," stated Minister Lebel. "This funding helps Techéol Inc. remain competitive and take advantage of the growth of the wind energy sector."

Techéol Inc. specializes in the maintenance and repair of wind turbines. Founded in 2007, it has secured a place as a qualified subcontractor with prime contractors and owners of wind farms sited in different parts of Canada. In order to pursue its development, Techéol Inc. has acquired additional equipment to allow its crews to carry out work at more than one site at a time. Currently, the enterprise performs care and maintenance at six different sites comprising some 400 wind turbines.

About the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE)

The $93,366 repayable contribution announced today was provided under Canada Economic Development's 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 enterprises established in those communities so as to ensure their sustainable development.

On July 14, 2011, the Government of Canada announced its intention to allocate a further $20 million in funding over two years to support the Quebec silvicultural sector for 2011 and 2012.

This measure is one of several put in place by the Government of Canada in the past few months to counteract the effects of the forest crisis. Others include the Community Adjustment Fund, with its $1-billion budget over two years to mitigate the impact of the crisis, the $1 billion granted for 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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