$51.3M INVESTMENT UPGRADES CNC & UNBC FACILITIES

PRINCE GEORGE – A $51.3-million investment by the federal and provincial governments will provide significant upgrades to the College of New Caledonia’s Prince George and Quesnel campuses, as well as the University of Northern British Columbia campus, creating up to 328 jobs.

Richard Harris, MP for Cariboo-Prince George; Jay Hill, MP for Prince George-Peace River; Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George-Mt. Robson; John Rustad, MLA for Prince George-Omenica; and Pat Bell, MLA for Prince George North, made the announcement today.

“Enhancing research capacity attracts students and provides a better educational experience for the highly-skilled workers of tomorrow. I am pleased to see that the working relationship between the federal Conservative government and the B.C. provincial government is working to provide substantial stimulus by creating jobs for people now and for growth in years to come,” said Harris.

“This initiative to renew colleges and universities will stimulate the economy of communities across B.C. at a time when it's needed most,” said Hill. “The partnership between the federal and provincial governments to invest in post-secondary institutions will ensure that more Canadians possess the expertise and knowledge they need to seize economic opportunities in the future.”

This investment is part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians.

“We know that we have outstanding post-secondary institutions in Prince George. These additional dollars will help make UNBC a greener place to learn, and will help create a state-of-the-art technical education centre at CNC that will allow us to train even more students here at home and better enable us to meet the demands of a changing workforce,” said Bond. “This is the realization of an incredible partnership between our college, our government and our federal partners.”

At CNC, a combined total of $29.6 million will fund two campus capital upgrade projects, expected to generate up to 189 jobs. CNC’s Prince George campus will received an investment of $19.75 million to renovate some spaces within the John A Brink Centre, and to replace an existing 48-year-old trades training building with a new technical education centre building with sustainable systems that lowers energy consumption and creates more room for trades trainees. The remaining $9.9 million will build Phase 2 of the North Cariboo Community Campus in Quesnel, accommodating increasing numbers of industry trainees at the Quesnel campus.

“This is absolutely wonderful news. Today’s announcements represent the largest single capital investment in our college in more than 30 years,” said CNC president John Bowman.

“It will allow us to translate the college’s vision for expanding and diversifying technical education in Northern B.C. into a reality. Our facilities capacity will be renewed and expanded by over 600 student seats for trades and technology programs. These projects will also provide a substantial economic stimulus for Prince George and the Central Interior region, with about 200 jobs created over the two-year-construction project in Prince George, and another 100 jobs created in Quesnel. The timing is perfect given the current economy.”

The North Cariboo Community Campus opened in 2006 after the provincial government provided $11.6 million to build a joint facility for the College of New Caledonia and the University of Northern B.C. in Quesnel. Work on Phase 2 is scheduled to begin June 30 of this year, generating up to 63 jobs. Work on the John A Brink Centre in Prince George is scheduled to begin by May 30 this year, while work on the Technical Education Centre in Prince George will begin in early summer, creating up to 126 jobs.

“By cost-sharing with the federal government and capitalizing on rock-bottom interest rates, we’re able to keep British Columbians working while investing in facilities for our post-secondary institutions,’’ said Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development Murray Coell. “We’re directing our resources to where they can produce the biggest and most immediate benefits – creating jobs, stability and confidence for families, and building and renewing campus infrastructure.”

UNBC will received a $21.7 million investment to build a plant that will use waste wood as biofuel and upgrade the campus’s heating and cooling equipment and machinery, creating over 139 jobs. Construction of the $14.8 million wastewood gasification plant at UNBC’s Prince George campus is expected to begin this month, which will take the bark, branches, sawdust and leftovers from nearby mills and convert it into biofuel. Aging heating, ventilation and cooling equipment and machinery in the university’s buildings are scheduled to be replaced beginning June 1, 2009 at a cost of $6.9 million, creating up to 44 jobs.

“This is an historic announcement for UNBC, Prince George, and all of northern B.C.,” said UNBC president Charles Jago. “This development has the potential to be transformative for our region in building a new industry based on knowledge and research. I’m so thankful to our MLAs and MPs for advocating on behalf of this exciting initiative.”

This is one of 29 projects at post-secondary institutions across the province that will break ground quickly thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of $433 million. The total investment in these projects is $455 million including contributions from institutions. This project is also part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province to create jobs and vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.

“In challenging economic times, it makes sense to maintain and expand post-secondary educational investments, as we know that many British Columbians will be returning to the post-secondary system to expand their skills,” said Rustad. “This joint federal-provincial venture will serve our northern communities for many years to come.”

“Our government is committed to providing better choices and better access so students can get the post-secondary education they need to succeed in British Columbia,” said Bell. “The Knowledge Infrastructure Project plays an important role in our province to achieve that goal by helping to expand campuses and provide necessary upgrades to facilities to ensure they’ll be climate friendly and meet the needs of our communities as we move forward.”

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.

For more information on the provincial government’s three-year job creation plan, visit www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure. For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

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Media contact:	Craig MacBride Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development 250 356-7882 250 896-9704	Media Relations Industry Canada 613 943-2502
	Pema Lhalungpa Press Secretary Office of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, Government of Canada 613 995-9001
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