Government of Canada Grants $159,000 in Funding to Support Growth of Aircraft Maintenance Systems RD Inc.

SAINT-FÉLICIEN, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 4, 2011) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, today announced that Aircraft Maintenance Systems RD Inc. has been granted $159,000 in repayable funding through the Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies to commercialize its products on Canadian, American and European markets. 

"The Government of Canada is pleased to lend its financial support to enterprises that, like Aircraft Maintenance Systems RD Inc., are investing in research and development. The project of this Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean firm could well create new economic prospects for the region," explained the Minister of State Lebel.

The project, which centres on the adoption and implementation of a well-targeted strategy, will enable the firm to increase its export sales, reach a new level of development and continue occupying a place of key importance in the sector.

Aircraft Maintenance Systems RD Inc. expects that this project will result in the creation of at least six new specialized jobs as well as in the maintenance of the company's 11 existing positions.

About the TISQFE

Brought into force last June, the TISQFE 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 Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies 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," Minister of State Lebel added.

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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