OTTAWA, ON, May 29, 2009 — On behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry Canada, Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, along with Bill Mauro, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, announced today a Knowledge Infrastructure Program investment to Confederation College.
 
Today’s Investment will benefit the new Regional Education Alliance for Community Health Centre (REACH) at the Thunder Bay Campus of Confederation College.  The REACH Project is designed to ultimately create new jobs in research, training, healthcare and community service workers. The facilities are designed to facilitate the creation of a knowledgeable healthcare workforce, including retraining of displaced workers from other industries. Through an inter-professional, intercultural and intergenerational approach to community health benefits will be seen by many in Northwestern Ontario.
 
“The Government of Canada’s investment in Confederation College and specifically in the REACH Centre will provide short-term economic benefits by way of creating jobs and long-term educational and health benefits that will enhance the quality of life for Northwestern Ontarians,” said Rickford.
 
“Our government is boosting our support for postsecondary infrastructure to give colleges and universities the support they need to build and improve their facilities.  By investing at Confederation College today, we’re strengthening our economy by creating jobs in our community and ensuring students can learn in modern, state-of-the-art facilities,” said Bill Mauro, MPP.
 
This investment is part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian colleges and universities. The program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians. It is also helping to generate the advanced technological infrastructure needed to keep Canada’s colleges and universities at the forefront of scientific advancement.
 
Confederation College was awarded federal funding of $6,230,000 and provincial funding of $14,230,000 toward the Regional Education Alliance for Community Health Centre (REACH) at the Thunder Bay Campus.
 
“This wonderful investment levered at the Federal Government level by Greg Rickford, MP, Kenora, in cooperation with Thunder Bay MPPs Gravelle and Mauro, signals the rebirth of Health and Community Services education at Confederation College campuses in Thunder Bay and across the region.  This new facility and its programs will focus on engaging regional learners in integrated, intercultural, intergenerational and interprofessional, applied learning and will fuel the health and community services workforce of the future” said Hartley Multamaki, Chair, Board of Governors, Confederation College.
 
Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program. This new support is the next substantive investment in the Government of Canada’s multi-year Science and Technology Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage.
 
For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, including program criteria and application instructions, please visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.