MONTRÉAL, Aug. 31, 2010 /CNW Telbec/ - Work on the construction of a new
science building began today with a symbolic ground breaking ceremony
conducted by Jacques Gourde, the current Member of Parliament for
Lotbinière-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister
of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National
Revenue, on behalf of the Minister of State for Science and Technology, the
Honourable Gary Goodyear, by the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports,
Line Beauchamp, and by Geoffrey Kelley, the Member of the National Assembly
for Jacques-Cartier and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public
Security.
    "The funding we announced last fall has not only served as a short-term
direct stimulus to our economy but will ensure, in the long run, that future
generations of John Abbott College students will have access to appropriate
facilities and infrastructure," said Mr. Gourde.
    As part of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, the governments of
Canada and Québec are investing a total of $7.8 million in the construction of
pharmaceutical production and prehospital emergency care laboratories, as well
as in the installation of a geothermic heating system.
    This work is primarily intended to increase the amount of space available
for instructional services. John Abbott College is the only one of Québec's
CÉGEPs offering these two programs in English, and anticipates that the
construction of these laboratories will enable it to accommodate four new
student cohorts. Moreover, the installation of a geothermic heating system
will quadruple the College's hydroelectric heating capacity by extracting heat
from the soil. In this way, the College will save close to $65 000 annually.
These installations will also be used to train students enrolled in courses in
energy management systems for buildings.
    "These investments in education are essential to ensure the
sustainability of our educational institutions. I hope that the students who
use these modern, safe and pleasant facilities will be motivated to continue
their studies through to graduation," said Minister Beauchamp.
    With these new government investments, John Abbot College will have
received total funding of over $10 million under the Knowledge Infrastructure
Program. Note that earlier this year, it received over $2.4 million from the
Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) and Industry Canada to
install an independent heating system.

    About the Knowledge Infrastructure Program

    The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is designed to stimulate the
Canadian economy by supporting infrastructure enhancement at colleges and
universities. Through this program, the Federal Government will invest close
to $460 million in Québec institutions of higher learning over the next two
years.
    Furthermore, Québec and its partners will invest an additional $621
million, which represents a combined federal-provincial investment of over one
billion dollars. The projects concerned involve new buildings as well as asset
maintenance, renovation, repair and maintenance work. In Québec, nearly 300
projects have already been selected.

    For more information on the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, go to
www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

    For a progress report on the Plan québécois des infrastructures, go to
www.infrastructures.gouv.qc.ca.