Thank you, Mr. Pallister.
The mission of the Boîte à science is to stimulate young people's interest in science and technology, and it has been doing that for 25 years. Since 2005, we've been developing the idea of creating a science centre in Quebec City. For people from outside Quebec, these are obvious things because they have one in their city. Quebec City is the only one of the top 20 cities in Canada that doesn't have a science centre.
In anticipation of the project's implementation, we did our homework. We met with 300 persons. We visited some 30 science centres, took part in discussion groups, conducted surveys and studies and prepared briefs. We have a business plan, which will be distributed to you shortly.
Our organization became a member of the Canadian Association of Science Centres, and it was then that we learned there was no Canadian strategy in the area. We are the last city to establish a science centre, and we see that everyone has done it in a piecemeal way, each in his own area. There was no strategy.
And yet science centres are the most useful tools for stimulating young people's interest in science and technology. There are 1,500 of them in the world, including 640 in Asia, where they are experiencing phenomenal growth, because political authorities have understood that grey matter is the raw material of potential prosperity in a community. If young people are interested in it, then they're able to have careers in the field. The centres are the roots of those careers. UNESCO even states that countries that do not make an effort to interest young people in science and technology become poorer. It doesn't say they could become poorer, but that they become poorer. That's a statement.
In our discussion groups here in Quebec City, we asked people to name us five science and technology businesses, five scientists and five patents, and the response rate was 0%. No one was able to name five, whereas we have 800 businesses that conduct research and development. That's not right. People must adopt this in order to dream it, so that children are inspired by it, so that they in turn can contribute to prosperity or even take a position on complex issues such as OGMs or various health problems such as SARS. We'd like people to be able to have an opinion.
The project we're proposing for Quebec would initially cost $30 million. In the world of science centres, this is not a very ambitious project, but it would make it possible to meet the need and to make a difference in the city. The operating budget would be $7 million a year. We ask the federal government to provide 50% of the public contribution to this project. The economic impact would be $43 million initially and $11 million a year thereafter.
We've done our homework. We have 23 prominent ambassadors who believe in the project, and we have the necessary expertise. This is an Economic Forum for the region. Three weeks ago, 160 leaders met at the Château Frontenac and said they believed in it and that they wanted one. So the private sector is mobilizing. We have a government that believes that prosperity depends on the ability of people and families. Lastly, we have an issue that is not a provincial jurisdiction, but that should be part of the Canadian strategy.
We are therefore relying on the federal government to enable the City of Quebec to have a science centre. Canada's other cities have one. The federal government's contribution will be 50% of the initial outlay, which would amount to approximately $18 million, and 50% of the public share over 10 years, which would be $20 million, for a total of $38 million over 10 years.
Thank you. I am available to answer your questions.