Release of the study "Natural Resources: Leverage for the City's Growth" by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

MONTREAL, April 18, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Today the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal released the results of its study entitled "Natural Resources: Leverage for the City's Growth." The study demonstrates that the economic spin-offs from the exploitation of natural resources and the implementation of the Plan Nord for the Montréal metropolitan area will be in the order of $51.8 billion over the next 25 years.

"For the past few years, the meteoric rise in demand from emerging countries has contributed to a major increase in the price of natural resources," said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. "This demand, combined with the abundance of natural resources in our province, provides a unique opportunity for wealth creation for all of Québec. Our study shows that the Plan Nord and the exploitation of natural resources throughout the rest of Québec will benefit regions as much as the city."

"Despite the fact that our society has clearly moved toward a knowledge economy, natural resources will remain essential to the city's economic development," Mr. Leblanc said. "Because far from being contradictory choices, the knowledge economy and natural resources are in many cases interdependent. Engineering consulting firms, high-technology equipment manufacturers and university research centres are central to the development of natural resources today, and the many upcoming projects in the sector will definitely help improve our general performance in terms of productivity and innovation."

"The Board of Trade believes it is essential to connect prime contractors with suppliers and qualified labour from the Montréal area," Michel Leblanc said. "This is one of the strategies identified in the study that will maximize the benefits for the city. We are holding a Strategic Forum with over 600 participants and the Salon Plan Nord on April 20 and 21 to facilitate these meetings and help mobilize the sector. These events will enable businesses and individuals to make connections that we are confident will turn into promising business ventures for our economy."

"In the years to come, the Board of Trade will remain vigilant and ensure that the players concerned put in place strategies to maximize spin-offs so that we all benefit from the wealth generated through natural resources and the implementation of the Plan Nord," Michel Leblanc said. "It's up to us to ensure that the Plan Nord is also a Plan Sud."

Highlights of the study:

• In terms of total investment and operating expenditures, natural resources will generate estimated spin-offs of $51.8 billion in the Montréal metropolitan area over the next 25 years.
• The exploitation of natural resources and the implementation of the Plan Nord will create or maintain around 14,335 jobs in the city per year, for 25 years.
• To maximize the economic spin-offs of the exploitation of natural resources in the metropolitan area, the actors concerned will have to implement concrete strategies with four major goals in mind:
1. Put in place a business environment conducive to the development of natural resources;
2. Propose and strengthen training programs to allow development of a sufficient number of specialized human resources;
3. Maximize linkage in the value chain, both upstream and downstream;
4. Highlight the distinctive qualities of our resources and enhance their value in the marketplace.

Link to the study: www.btmm.qc.ca/natural-resources-study

About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.

For further information:

Sylvie Paquette
Advisor, Media Relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: [phone], ext. 4015
sylvie.pa[email protected]

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