Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform this House that the Minister of Labour has just announced, on behalf of his colleague, the Minister of Human Resources Development, that $850,000 has been awarded to the new MDF board plant in the Saguenay town of La Baie.
Following the opening of the plant, this financial assistance drawn directly from the transition job fund will create 98 permanent full time jobs as well as 245 indirect jobs in the region. In addition, construction of the plant itself will generate employment for 145 workers. This project, viewed as a priority for the economic development of the region, will be carried out in partnership with Uniboard Canada, which will provide the funding required to complete this $128 million project.
We are proud to be directly associated with this project, which will create permanent jobs in this high growth sector in the Saguenay area.