CANADA AND WINNIPEG CELEBRATE YOUTH CENTRE GROUNDBREAKING

June 24, 2010

New facility will be a destination for the city’s youth

Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 24, 2010 — The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and Member of Parliament for Provencher and City of Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, together with John Courtney, Youth for Christ Executive Director and Ross McGowan, President and CEO of CentreVenture Development Corporation, today celebrated the official ground-breaking of the new Centre For Youth Excellence.

“The construction of this new centre will create jobs, while providing youth with constructive recreational opportunities and promoting a sense of belonging in the community,” said Minister Toews.  “I am happy that the Government of Canada is partnering with the City of Winnipeg to fund this project that will provide a safe gathering place for our youth.”

Through a joint investment of up to $3.2 million each from the Government of Canada and the City of Winnipeg, Youth for Christ is building a 50,000 sq. ft. facility that will encourage Winnipeg’s youth to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.

“This ground-breaking is a positive example of collaboration when the private sector steps up to the plate to partner with governments to invest in the future of our young people,” said Mayor Katz. “This centre will be a tremendous resource in promoting a healthy lifestyle for youth in our city. To affect permanent positive change, we need to continue to invest in healthy opportunities for our youth and work with all stakeholders in our City to take ownership of not only our challenges, but the solutions as well.”

“We are thrilled with the support and partnership from the federal government, Centre Venture, the City of Winnipeg and the private sector that provide this incredible opportunity to add value to the youth of the city,” said Youth for Christ Executive Director John Courtney. “We believe this new Centre for Youth Excellence will play a major role in supporting youth to become vibrant contributing future leaders. It will provide youth with constructive supervised recreational activities, positive direction for their daily challenges, hope for their future and caring adult mentors who will cheer them on.”

“The Centre for Youth Excellence is a major building block for the comprehensive revitalization of the North Main area as a sustainable community and provides a much needed recreation resource for the area,” said Ross McGowan of Centre Venture.

The Centre For Youth Excellence will house an indoor skate park; a drop-in centre; a job skills and training centre; a counseling centre; a dance and performing arts studio; a fitness centre; gymnasium space for floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, and soccer; a climbing wall; and a multipurpose theatre.
 
The total eligible project costs are over $9.5 million, with the federal and municipal governments each providing one-third of the costs, up to $3.2 million each. The project proponent will contribute the remaining one-third funding, as well as other project costs. The Government of Canada’s funding comes from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

The federal $4 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund provides support to provincial, territorial and municipal construction-ready infrastructure projects that can be completed by March 31, 2011.