MAPLE RIDGE – An investment of $1.63 million from the federal and provincial governments will build a new rope rescue tower at the Justice Institute of British Columbia’s Fire and Safety Training Centre in Maple Ridge, improve their facilities at the Canada Education Park and their main campus in New Westminster, creating about 10 direct jobs.

Randy Kamp, MP for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, along with Randy Hawes, Maple Ridge-Mission MLA, announced the funding today.

“This Government of Canada investment in the Justice Institute of British Columbia will provide a significant short-term economic stimulus to Maple Ridge and will create jobs in this region,” said Kamp. “Our government is investing in innovation to create jobs, to help our economy recover quickly and to improve the quality of life for Canadians.”

“We are helping the Justice Institute expand its training facilities and offer more options to students and this is encouraging news for the community because more training means more jobs,” said Hawes. “Through partnerships like this one we can ensure that our community will be prepared for the future as our residents are offered the best in job training. We are also pleased that these improvement projects will be creating jobs for the community which is great news.”

This investment is part of the federal government’s two-year, $2-billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canadian post-secondary institutions. The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is helping to provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians. In B.C. the federal government is providing up to 50 per cent of the cost of selected projects on a cost-share basis with the Province.

The $1.63 million upgrades at the JIBC will include a new $750,000 rope rescue tower at their Maple Ridge campus, a $750,000 replacement of aging heating and cooling equipment and machinery at their New Westminster campus and $129,000 for renovations to their facility in the Canada Education Park.

“By providing half of all the funding for these projects, we’re able to keep British Columbians working while investing in facilities for our post-secondary institutions,’’ said Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. “We’re directing our resources to where they can produce the biggest and most immediate benefits – creating jobs, stability and confidence for families, and building and renewing campus infrastructure. Provincewide these projects will create almost 3,000 direct jobs.”

The projects totalling $1.63 million in improvements to the Justice Institute of British Columbia will begin this month and are expected to generate about 10 direct jobs.

The Justice Institute of British Columbia is Canada’s leading public safety educator – a dynamic, post-secondary institution recognized nationally and internationally for continuous improvement and innovative education in the areas of justice and public safety.

“The contributions of the federal and provincial governments to these infrastructure projects will help to ensure that the Justice Institute of British Columbia is well positioned to prepare the next generation of public safety professionals and leaders, who will protect communities throughout the Province and across Canada in the decades to come,” said JIBC president Jack McGee. “The projects at three of the JIBC campuses will provide essential resources for students while, providing environmentally sound enhancements to the infrastructure.”

This is one of 29 projects at post-secondary institutions across the province that will break ground quickly thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of $433 million. The total investment in these projects is $455 million including contributions from institutions. This project is also part of an overall $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province to create jobs and vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program.

For more information on the provincial government’s three-year job creation plan, visit www.gov.bc.ca/infrastructure . For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure