Government of Canada Invests Research and Equipment at Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface

May 20, 2009

Today Shelly Glover, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages and Member of Parliament for Saint Boniface, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, announced an investment for Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface to upgrade equipment and laboratory technologies for its Faculty of Science and the Multimedia and Communications program.

"New equipment for Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface will better enable our region to attract and train new professionals in the life sciences and multimedia sectors," said Mrs. Glover. "Our Government's investment will help build a highly-skilled workforce and create new opportunities for Manitobans."

Upgrading the Faculty of Science's technical equipment will enable Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface (CUSB) to position itself in the life sciences sector and create collaborations with institutions such as the Saint-Boniface Hospital Research Centre.  These collaborations will assist CUSB in developing high quality research projects and create partnerships with other research centres.

The new technology for the Multimedia and Communications program will build on an already successful program at the CUSB where graduates have succeeded in finding employment with companies such as Frantic Films and Les Productions Rivard, as well as starting their own multimedia companies. 

"Technology evolves very quickly. The long-term success of our programs relies on our capacity to offer state-of-the-art equipment to our students," said Mrs. Raymonde Gagné, President, Le Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. "The federal government investment, through Western Economic Diversification Canada, is crucial to this as it gives us the opportunity to strengthen our programs by upgrading our laboratories technology to better meet the emerging needs of the multimedia industry and increase our research capacities in science. The CUSB is really grateful to benefit from this investment."

WD's investment of $255,600 will be used to purchase equipment that will allow the Faculty of Science to undertake research in areas such as bio-insecticides, new drug sources, and the development of disinfectants from plants.  Upgrades to the multimedia lab will include equipment necessary to meet current industry requirements, providing graduates with skills in film subtitling, closed-captioning, and multimedia platform technologies in both official languages. 

Western Economic Diversification works with the provinces, industry associations, and communities to promote the development and diversification of the western economy, coordinate federal economic activities in the West and represent the interests of western Canadians in national decision-making.