Investment of $31.32 million in infrastructure at CHU Sainte-Justine to support research and innovation activities

MONTRÉAL, July 10, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for Ahuntsic–Cartierville, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, along with Hélène David, Quebec Minister of Higher Education, and Gaétan Barrette, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services, today announced a significant investment to help equip young Quebecers with the quality post-secondary education that will enable them to achieve their goals.

The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec are investing $25.06 million in a project at Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine in Montréal. The funding will enable the centre to bring together institutional and private partners to transform the vision for pediatric rehabilitation.

Federal funding is allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

The Government of Quebec's contribution is part of the Québec Infrastructure Plan (French web page), which sets out investments in all sectors of the economy, including higher education.

The financing announced today will allow CHU Sainte-Justine to create a technology centre for pediatric rehabilitation in Montréal. This ambitious project, the result of a network of researchers, clinicians, businesses and industries in Quebec, involves constructing a new building that will be integrated with the Marie Enfant Rehabilitation Centre; recruiting new researchers, teachers and clinicians who specialize in rehabilitiation; and developing partnerships with institutions and businesses working in the area of pediatric rehablitiation. The goal is to eliminate the impacts of children's disabilities and to create an international ecosystem for developing and commercializing innovations to help ensure children have a bright future.

A total of $31.32 million is being invested in this project:

• The Government of Canada is providing $15.66 million.
• The Government of Quebec is providing $9.40 million.
• CHU Sainte-Justine and other partners are providing $6.26 million.

In total, universities and colleges throughout Quebec will receive nearly $1.1 billion from the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors.

As a result of these investments in Quebec, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country's best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for—and create—the high-value middle-class jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

Quotes

"This historic investment by the Government of Canada is a down payment on the government's vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. That means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes."
– The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"Government of Canada investments in projects like these at CHU Sainte-Justine will create good, well-paying jobs here in Montréal. These investments will help the middle class grow and prosper now, while also delivering sustained economic growth for years to come."
– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Our government will continue to invest time and money in our students' success. Our commitment is clear: do everything possible to help our students and professors accomplish great things. Significant investments like those announced today are helping ensure the development of our higher education facilities so that future generations have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure."
– Hélène David, Quebec Minister of Higher Education

"Sainte-Justine is already a leader in the area of research. The technology centre will enable it to go a step further with an integrated approach involving clinicians, managers, researchers, businesses and industrial partners. This will have positive and critical repercussions in supporting autonomy and social integration."
– Gaétan Barrette, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services

"The Marie Enfant Rehabilitation Centre is recognized as a centre of excellence in the care of disabled children. The integration of care, education and research allows these children and their families to benefit from technological and psychosocial innovations. The new technology centre will bring together knowledge from the field and from institutional and private partners to better detect, treat and even heal these children's disabilities."
– Dr. Fabrice Brunet, President and Director General, CHU Sainte-Justine

Quick facts

• The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced in December 2016 that the federal government would provide more than $385 million for research infrastructure at institutions throughout Quebec.
• Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec, and Hélène David, Minister of Higher Education, also announced that the Government of Quebec would invest more than $345 million in research infrastructure at post-secondary institutions in Quebec.
• CHU Sainte-Justine has been awarded $15.66 million in federal funding under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, as well as a contribution of $9.40 million from the Government of Quebec through the Québec Infrastructure Plan.
• The targeted, short-term investments under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will promote economic activity across Canada and help Canada's universities and colleges develop highly skilled workers, act as engines of discovery, and collaborate on innovations that help Canadian companies compete and grow internationally.
• The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund supports the Government of Canada's climate change objectives by encouraging sustainable and green infrastructure projects.
• Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan is designed to ensure our country is globally competitive in promoting research, translating ideas into new products and services, accelerating business growth and propelling entrepreneurs from the start-up phase to international success.

Associated links

• Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund
• Québec Infrastructure Plan (French web page)
• English PDF of Québec Infrastructure Plan
• Innovation and Skills Plan

Follow Minister Bains on Twitter: @MinisterISED
Follow Minister David on Twitter: @David_Hlne

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

For further information: Karl W. Sasseville, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, 343-291-2500; Thierry Bélair, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Higher Education, 418-266-3255; Julie White, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Health and Social Services, 418-266-7171; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/home