Government of Canada Invests in Village of Edgerton Recreational Facility

September 23, 2009

MANNVILLE, Alberta – The Village of Edgerton will be able to move forward with upgrades to their arena thanks to the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program, a major job creating investment from Canada’s Economic Action Plan.  Today, Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright, on behalf of the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, and Doug Griffiths, MLA for Battle River-Wainwright, announced federal and provincial funding for the Edgerton facility that will help improve a valuable community asset.

“I’m pleased to announce our Government’s support for the Edgerton arena upgrade,” said MP Benoit. “Investments such as this will help put Canadians to work, encourage greater participation in physical activity and use of recreational facilities, and ensure that communities across the West have access to an array of recreational options we need today and in the future.”

Funding of $101,040 is provided through Western Economic Diversification under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program towards installing a new refrigeration system.  The Village of Edgerton is converting their hockey rink from natural ice to artificial ice to help extend the skating season for community members.  This will be beneficial for both recreational users and also for those wishing to train for skating competitions.  This improvement will encourage healthy lifestyles and engage both residents of Edgerton and visitors to participate in the community’s recreational resources. 

“This arena upgrade project will enhance the Village of Edgerton’s municipal infrastructure and improve residents’ quality of life,” said MLA Griffiths. “It will also help keep Albertans working – one of the province’s priorities in these economic times.”

 “We are thrilled to be a recipient of the Recreational Infrastructure Grant (RInC) to complete the ice surface renovation projects in our Arena” said Edgerton Mayor, Barbara Sjoquist. “This project will benefit for many years to come, our community, our school, our skating and hockey programs for children, adults and teens and our East Central Striders Speed Skating Club. It is an important project for Edgerton, but also for the entire region. The benefits of this funding and this project are widespread and cover healthy physical activity and quality of life issues in our community and area. We are very thankful that funding is being provided to small community projects such as ours and to us that shows that small communities are as significant as larger centres.”


The Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program will invest $500 million in recreational facilities across Canada over a two-year period. It will provide a temporary economic stimulus that will help reduce the impacts of the global recession while renewing, upgrading and expanding recreational infrastructure in Canadian communities.

RInC is part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada’s multi-faceted stimulus plan that will ensure a quick recovery from the current economic downturn. Western Economic Diversification Canada is delivering the initiative in the four western provinces.

For information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, please visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

The $100,000 provincial contribution comes from Alberta Municipal Infrastructure Program (AMIP). This program provides funding for capital infrastructure projects, such as municipal roads, bridges, public transit vehicles and facilities, water and wastewater systems and facilities, storm drainage systems and facilities, emergency service vehicles and facilities, and infrastructure management system software. http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/2708.htm