HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS BENEFIT NORTH PEACE RIVER REGION

FORT ST JOHN – Residents of the North Peace River region will benefit from joint federal and provincial funding to improve local highways, area roads and bridges, Jay Hill, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River and Peace River South MLA Blair Lekstrom announced today.

These projects will improve travel and safety conditions and increase transportation efficiency.

“This government is taking action to get shovels in the ground faster, stimulate the economy and create jobs for Canadians,” said Hill. “These highway initiatives will improve the safety and efficiency of our provincial highways while helping to generate economic stimulus for British Columbia.”

“With over $11 million in federal and provincial funding we are stimulating the economy and building for the future,” said Lekstrom. “The immediate benefits of these projects are two-fold; we are keeping British Columbians working by providing about 60 direct jobs, and at the same time improving transportation networks throughout our communities.”

The projects in the North Peace River region include:

· Strengthening and paving approximately 10 km of Beryl Prairie Road near Hudson’s Hope.

· Paving approximately 40 km of roads impacted by the oil and gas industry traffic in the North Peace area, including Doig and Siphon Creek roads, near Fort St. John.

The Government of British Columbia has identified these projects for funding consideration. Federal funding is conditional on the projects’ meeting all federal eligibility requirements.

These projects are part of an overall, three-year $14-billion capital infrastructure program (www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure) supported by the Province that will create up to 88,000 jobs and help build vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.

Beyond today’s announcement, the Government of Canada is taking important steps to support economic growth. Canada’s Economic Action Plan, announced in Budget 2009, is a balanced stimulus plan that includes massive investments in infrastructure, tax relief and transfers. This plan will provide close to $12 billion in new infrastructure stimulus funding over two years, which will address needs in communities across Canada, as well as contributing to long-term economic growth through investments in public infrastructure, such as roads, water treatment, green energy and transit. This money is already at work in B.C. through federal support to the provincial Towns for Tomorrow and LocalMotion programs.

For more information, please visit www.buildingcanada.gc.ca.

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Media contact:	Jeff Knight Communications Manager Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure 250 356-7707	Barb Gale Office of the Honourable Jay Hill, MP for Prince George-Peace River 250 561-7922

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.