McGuinty Government Improves Cultural Facility for Kincardine Community

Facility Improvements To Kincardine Pavilion Will Help Attract Tourists

Kincardine -- The McGuinty government is investing in a project that will restore and renovate the historic dancehall Kincardine Pavilion, Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron-Bruce, announced today on behalf of Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

"The McGuinty government's support for this project shows that we are on the side of families in rural Ontario," said Mitchell. "This project will help in the completion and return to operations of the Pavilion to further attract tourism, extend tourism shoulder season opportunities, and complement ongoing waterfront tourism development objectives."

The government will contribute $47,000 to help the Friends of the Pavilion (Architectural Conservancy of Ontario - South Bruce Grey Branch), the Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine, and the Bruce Community Futures Development Corporation in the completion of the roof, including related wall and trusses supports for the Pavilion. When the project is complete, the pavilion will be transformed into a musical and cultural facility.

"We are pleased that the Ontario government has chosen to support this project," said Martin Quinn, committee member of Friends of the Pavilion. "This early 1920's historic site will now be able to meet an identified demand for a high-performance indoor music venue and will help Kincardine meet our waterfront tourism development objectives."

Other government initiatives that support Ontario's rural communities include:

• Investing in rural health care, including 17 new community health centres and seven satellite CHCs that serve rural communities

• Expanding access to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals: 3,062 new nursing positions; 150 family health teams, when fully operational, providing better care for more than 2.5 million Ontarians; providing international medical graduates with access to up to 200 training and assessment positions each year

• Investing over $26 million in rural communities through the Rural Economic Development Program.

Today's investment was made through the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, which invests in projects that support sustainable rural economies and community partnerships -- a key part of the government's plan for rural Ontario.

Through the RED program, the Ontario government and its rural partners are building stronger communities that work better for the people who live in them. For more information about RED or Ontario's rural plan, visit www.omafra.gov.on.ca.