The Municipality of Middlesex Centre today celebrated the start of work on a new Community Wellness and Recreation Centre. Bev Shipley, MP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex; Maria Van Bommel, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex; and Al Edmondson, Mayor of the Township of Middlesex Centre, are pleased to see this important infrastructure project get underway.

This project includes building a new facility complete with a double pad arena, walking track, wellness and fitness centre, gymnasium and serving kitchen, library, multi-purpose community rooms and a large foyer. The governments of Canada and Ontario have each committed up to $8,102,641 to the project. The Municipality of Middlesex Centre will contribute the balance of the total eligible project cost of up to $24,307,924.

“Investing in recreation facilities like the Middlesex Centre Community Wellness and Recreation Centre reiterates our government’s commitment to creating jobs and improving Ontario communities," said MP Shipley. "The expansion and redevelopment of this facility will ensure that it will continue to serve families and individuals in this region for years to come, so that children and adults alike can stay fit and healthy.”

“Working in partnership with the federal government and our municipalities is providing much needed economic stimulus and enabling communities, like Middlesex Centre, to benefit from a new Community Wellness and Recreation Centre,” said MPP Van Bommel.  “I am pleased that we have been able to meet the needs of this growing community.”

“We are thankful for the federal and provincial contributions that will help us to develop a much-needed wellness and recreation facility in Middlesex Centre,” said Mayor Edmondson. “Once completed, the residents in our community will benefit from the many amenities this new centre has to offer.”

The Government of Canada’s contribution comes from Canada’s Economic Action Plan, which provides approximately $16 billion over two years to modernize a broad range of infrastructure. These investments are helping to create and maintain jobs across Canada for the benefit of all Canadians, and will ensure the country emerges from the economic downturn with a more modern and greener infrastructure.

The Province of Ontario’s contribution comes from the 2009 provincial budget, Confronting the Challenge: Building Our Economic Future. Ontario’s two-year, $32.5-billion investment will support more than 300,000 jobs and strengthen Ontario’s economy.

These projects are among more than 2,600 moving forward throughout Ontario thanks to a total combined federal and provincial investment of more than $11 billion in infrastructure stimulus funding. During these challenging economic times, the governments of Canada and Ontario have taken steps to get shovels in the ground and funding into targeted infrastructure projects across the province.