The Province of Prince Edward Island has agreed to contribute to the $8 million Canada Discovery Centre project on the Charlottetown Waterfront conditional upon other funding partners being secured, Development Minister Don MacKinnon announced today.
"By supporting the Discovery Centre, our government is responding to community needs for both a fixed roof tourism development on the waterfront and increased economic activity in east end Charlottetown," Minister MacKinnon said.
Minister MacKinnon pointed out many of the successful tourism activities currently put on by the Capital Commission, such as the Festival of Lights and the Festival of the Fathers, are dependent on good weather. As a fixed roof tourist attraction, the Discovery Centre will add a new dimension to the infrastructure of the downtown, expanding economic activity on the waterfront and adding diversity to the off-season programs of the Capital Commission. The Capital Commission will be holding information sessions with interested stakeholders over the next few months to further detail their plans for the project.
The project will see the old CN rail car shop on the waterfront restored and converted into the Canada Discovery Centre, an interpretive centre telling Canada's story to Canadians and people from all around the world, using the latest in technology.
The Province will support this project by having the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation(CADC) supply the land as well as making a $3.5 million loan available to the Capital Commission for the restoration. This loan and a further $450,00 investment by the Province as the provincial share of REDA funding will help lever several million dollars in funding from other sources." The mandate of CADC is to support projects of strategic economic and social benefit to the community, and the Discovery Centre meets that mandate. CADC will assume any provincial financial obligations on this project ensuring that existing dollars for culture and heritage programs on the Island will be unaffected," Minister MacKinnon stated.
Education Minister Chester Gillan, Minister Responsible for Heritage and Culture, in response to issues raised during recent discussions with representatives of the arts and cultural communities, stressed that existing funding levels for cultural and heritage programs would not be affected by the Discovery Centre project. He noted that while the Discovery Centre is an economic development initiative, it will also be beneficial to local arts and heritage groups. "The arts and heritage community are very important to the Island in terms of our culture and our quality of life. The cultural industry contributes a great deal to our economy, and through the Discovery Centre that contribution will be bolstered by an increased focus on our cultural sector. Through further consultations with the arts and cultural sectors it is anticipated that this project will be of benefit to the entire Island community." Minister Gillan stated.