QUEBEC CITY – The dairy processing sector plays a vital role in Canada’s economy, producing good, high-quality and nutritious products for Canadians across the country.
Today, Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Member of Parliament for La Prairie announced an investment of up to $361,743 under the Dairy Processing Investment Fund to Fromagerie Les Rivières.
This investment will enable Fromagerie Les Rivières to improve production efficiencies and modernize operations to help increase production. It will also help the company to reduce water usage and costs and minimize environmental impacts. The project consists of the purchase and installation of processing and packaging equipment and more efficient refining equipment.
The funding will allow Fromagerie Les Rivières to offer more specialty cheeses for Canadian consumers, while sourcing more high-quality milk from Canadian dairy farmers. They expect to double their quantity of milk requirements by 2020.
The Dairy Processing Investment Fund was established to provide funding to dairy processors for investments that will improve productivity and competitiveness, and help them prepare to market changes resulting from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The program provides non-repayable contributions to support projects through capital investment or access to expertise.
Quotes
“This is an excellent example of a local business providing Canadians with top-quality cheese products manufactured right here at home. This is part of the government’s plan to keep our world-class dairy processors on the cutting edge, while creating well-paying jobs for Canadians.”
– Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Member of Parliament for La Prairie
“This program supports growth and protects jobs created by small businesses like ours. Fromagerie Les Rivières is a young, family-owned business and the only dairy processing company located within Quebec City, which represents a large pool of consumers. The increased productivity resulting from this funding will enable us to respond to growing demand and meet our customers’ expectations.”
– Gerry Dansereau, Président, Fromagerie les rivières
