Today, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade, Minister for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Member of Parliament for Okanagan - Coquihalla, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, announced a Government of Canada investment of more than $1 million towards two projects to help communities affected by the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. Funding is provided through Western Economic Diversification Canada under the Community Economic Diversification Initiative (CEDI), a component of the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program.

“These investments will go towards projects that will further enable the City of Merritt to capitalize on a growing tourism industry and help the region create new opportunities and new jobs," said Minister Day. "The City Centre Gateway Project and the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition will support community cooperation towards a diverse and sustainable economy. This is part of our Government’s plan to address the challenges our communities face in this time of global economic uncertainty.”

With a WD investment of more than $925,000, the City of Merritt will renovate the Canadian Country Music Hall of Honour and outdoor stage area, create a Legacy Square green space, build western themed streetscapes and showcase a series of 10 historical and country music performer murals throughout selected areas of downtown Merritt.  The murals will also provide training opportunities and employment for 10 First Nations youth-at-risk during the summer.

"We, in the City of Merritt, are excited and grateful for the support the City Centre Gateway Project is receiving.  In these economic times, it is important for communities to be able to diversify,” said Susan Roline, Mayor of Merritt.  “With this project enhancing our downtown through the Legacy Square, improvements to our alleys and continued beautification of our wall with world class murals, Merritt will be taking steps to make our community even more welcoming to visitors.  With the development of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, we will put the exclamation point on our title of Country Music Capital of Canada."

WD will also invest more than $79,000 for the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition (SIBAC) to develop communications tools relating to the mountain pine beetle infestation. Information will include fact sheets, DVDs of experts speaking on mountain pine beetle-related topics, success stories of individual community-based mitigation efforts and a website devoted to the infestation. The project will improve knowledge and information sharing amongst rural and First Nations communities in the Southern Interior, which will help these communities develop local strategies that lessen the negative impacts of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

"SIBAC appreciates the financial support of the Federal Government for this initiative as it will allow SIBAC to build an interactive website that will provide relevant and timely information on MPB related issues to communities throughout the southern interior,"  said David Laird, Chair, Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition. Mr. Laird also stated, "That on behalf of the SIBAC Board, I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and closely with both the Federal and Provincial Governments in identifying and implementing the resources that First Nations and local governments will need to mitigate the impacts of the MPB epidemic on their communities".

Managed by Western Economic Diversification Canada, CEDI will invest more than $33 million over two years towards projects in communities most at risk from the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. The program supports a wide range of projects that further economic growth, job creation and future community sustainability.

The CEDI program is part of the Government of Canada’s $200 million comprehensive response to mitigate the short- and long-term effects of the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation on B.C.’s forestry sector. This federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program is led by Natural Resources Canada, in collaboration with Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) and Transport Canada.

Western Economic Diversification Canada in partnership with the provinces, industry associations, and communities promotes the development and diversification of the western economy, coordinates federal economic activities in the West and represents the interests of western Canadians in national decision-making.

For more information on the federal Mountain Pine Beetle Program, please visit: http://mpb.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/

For additional information, contact:

Donna Howes
Communications Manager, British Columbia
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Telephone: 604-666-1318
Cell: 604-505-6616

Robyn Grebliunas
City Centre Gateway Project
RBrand Productions
Telephone: 250-315-5851

Dalyce Brandt
Consultant, Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition
Telephone: 250-378-1929