MARCEL-DIONNE CENTER. As part of the national convention of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), the Minister for Education, Isabelle Charest, confirmed that funding for the renovations of the Center Marcel-Dionne is one of her government’s priorities. Advancements could come over the next few weeks.
Remember that the Marcel-Dionne Center was not selected for the Financial Assistance Program for Recreational and Sports Infrastructure (PAFIRS) due to the presence of the Voltigeurs de Drummondville in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ), which is considered a semi-professional league under program criteria.
“It was one of the criteria that had been established by the federal government because it is a bilateral agreement. So there was federal and provincial funding. Now, the Prime Minister has effectively said that this is one of his priorities. So I think it’s an encouraging sign that it’s finally the Center Marcel-Dionne’s turn to have funding. We will see in the coming weeks how it will be confirmed, ”said Ms. Charest.
Drummondville Mayor Stéphanie Lacoste and the city council have said that the renovation of the Drummondville arena is part of the downtown recovery plan. Thus, financial assistance for its renovation becomes all the more important in their eyes.
“It’s also a bit for this reason that there was funding during the pandemic for our QMJHL teams because we know how much it is an economic pillar for all regions. That is also part of the consideration because we know how important sports infrastructures are for all municipalities in Quebec. In the PAFIRS program, we had, among other things, 1.5 billion dollars in requests and we had 294 million budgets to grant in funding. Currently, we have a particular context because it is also an economic pillar for a region. So it is considered in the whole project, ”added the minister.
At present, this new program has no name and is still under development in the government. No timeline is also on the table. “The important thing is that the Prime Minister has said that it is one of our priorities. We know that everyone is eager for it to be confirmed, but for the moment I have no deadline, ”reiterated Isabelle Charest.
The Minister wanted to point out that her government has injected more than $800 million into Quebec sports infrastructure over the past four years, which makes these facilities one of her priorities because of their importance for their community, according to Ms. Charest.
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