Notes for an address by

The Honourable Lynne Yelich
Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification

Funding announcement

Corresponding Document: News Release (2009-09-10)

Check against delivery

Thank you, Maurice.

Good morning, everyone.
It is a great pleasure to be here today on behalf of our Government and as Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.

To ensure that Canada emerges from the current global recession stronger than ever, our Government has been taking concrete, effective and targeted steps to stimulate and sustain our economy through Canada’s Economic Action Plan. 

By June 11…Just ten weeks into this fiscal year, 80 percent of our Plan’s funding has been committed and is being implemented across the country.

Today, our absolute priority remains the same: to continue doing everything we can to deliver timely, targeted and affordable support to our Canadian workers, families and businesses who need it most.

I am pleased to announce, that our Government is taking yet another step towards economic recovery by investing more than $2.4 million towards upgrades to local recreational facilities, not only here in Warman, but across the entire Province of Saskatchewan.

Our Government’s infrastructure investment to upgrade local recreational facilities provides a short-term, targeted stimulus to the economy and results in greater employment opportunities for Saskatchewan people.

46 Saskatchewan recreational facilities will now be able to proceed with upgrading their rinks, ball fields and swimming pools.

Examples of some of the upgrades to come are:

• Upgrades to arena washrooms and dressing rooms, in Fox Valley, to make them wheelchair accessible;
• The Lac La Ronge Indian Band will construct two ball diamonds, a soccer field, a storage facility and a common grounds area for the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre;
• And here in Warman, we will develop a Linear Park by incorporating walking trails, bike paths and others spaces for recreational activities.

This long-term investment will provide Saskatchewan residents with modern, more efficient and better equipped facilities that will serve their future recreational needs and promote a healthy, active lifestyle. 

These projects are funded through the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program, or RInC as it is known.

Over a two-year period, this new infrastructure program is investing five hundred million dollars ($500 million) to improve recreational infrastructure in communities across the country. 

It is a short-term response that will help maintain Canada’s economic strength by creating jobs right now, when they’re needed most.

RInC is providing more than a short-term economic stimulus … it is also a long-term investment in the quality of life for Canadians.

In fact, today’s announcement brings the total RInC projects in Saskatchewan to 87.  Recreational facilities – such as local hockey rinks, swimming pools, and sports fields – are at the heart of Canadian communities… providing places where families, friends and neighbors can gather together to get fit and have fun.

Working with other levels of government, we have dramatically accelerated the planning, development and execution of infrastructure projects, like this one, from coast to coast to coast.

Many of our country’s recreational facilities were built to celebrate Canada’s Centennial in 1967.  It was a time of great national pride and enormous optimism for the future, so it seems fitting that we should re-invest in those facilities today. 

RInC is just one of a broad range of initiatives announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The Action Plan includes almost $40 billion in additional stimulus funding over the next two years.

Our Government is  creating and protecting jobs, building infrastructure, easing the tax burden on families, supporting Canadians who have lost their jobs, helping threatened industries, and laying the foundations for our future prosperity.

By making investments like these in 43 communities, we are seizing opportunities to revitalize our economy, to create jobs and to ensure that when the recovery comes, our economy will emerge stronger than ever.

Together we are all working to build a stronger West for a stronger Canada.

Thank you.