Motel Interprovincial Receives $350,000 in Funding From Government of Canada for Expansion

POINTE-À-LA-CROIX, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 21, 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 Motel Interprovincial has been granted $350,000 in financial assistance to expand its facilities.

"This funding to Motel Interprovincial illustrates the Government of Canada's commitment to supporting an enterprise whose project will actively contribute to the economic diversification of the Avignon RCM," said Minister Lebel.

Strategically situated at the gateway to Gaspésie and New Brunswick, Motel Interprovincial already welcomes tourists year round but is now looking to expand its facilities in order to increase its occupancy rate. The planned work will help raise the establishment to a higher category while adding to the tourist lodging supply in the region. The project, which will necessitate an overall investment of more than $1 million, involves modernizing the motel's existing facilities and adding 17 more units, five of them suites. These improvements are expected to help increase Motel Interprovincial's sales and bolster tourism spinoffs in the region. This project also supports the efforts of the Regional County Municipality (RCM) to diversify its economy, which is largely reliant on forestry. This funding, granted through Canada Economic Development's Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies (TISQFE), will serve for the construction of the new units.

About the TISQFE

The Temporary Initiative for the Strengthening of Quebec's Forest Economies 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 a further $20 million in funding over two years to support the Quebec silvicultural sector for the years 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.

Keep up with the latest news from Canada Economic Development by visiting www.dec-ced.gc.ca or subscribing to @CanEconDev on Twitter.