The Government of Canada is investing in MR-63's new carbon-neutral cultural performance centre

MONTRÉAL, June 2, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Member of Parliament for Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Soeurs, announced a federal investment of more than $6.5 million to support the construction of a new carbon-neutral building for MR-63, a Montreal-based cultural organization. For the occasion, he was accompanied by Benoit Dorais, Vice-chair of the Executive committee of the City of Montreal and borough mayor for Le Sud-Ouest, Frédéric Morin-Bordeleau, General Manager and co-founder of MR-63, and Étienne Morin-Bordeleau, Creative Director and co-founder of MR-63.

This investment will allow MR-63 to construct a permanent cultural performance centre by reusing eight former Montreal subway cars. The exterior glass structure will be complemented by dense biodiverse native vegetation that will cover the entire envelope and interior mezzanines. The outdoor public plaza will also capture rainwater for watering the building's plants and will be greened to create a public cooling island. The very low energy consumption of this project will also play an important role in reducing the environmental footprint and in achieving Canada's climate targets for a more sustainable future.

The building will meet the highest accessibility standards and will create a public space dedicated to showcasing Montreal's cultural talent. It will also host civic and community events and actions to support vulnerable residents and marginalized communities.

MR-63 offers local and environmentally responsible cultural and creative programming. Wanting to contribute to its host neighbourhood, the organization strives to bring together communities distanced by gentrification by celebrating their diversity and history. The availability and location of these spaces and the services they support play an important role in promoting inclusion and addressing systemic inequalities.

By investing in infrastructure, the Government of Canada is growing our country's economy, building resilient communities, and improving the lives of Canadians.

"The heritage MR-63 model subway cars created in 1966 have found a second life! The MR-63 organization has already been working for seven years on the planning of the project that we are announcing today. This carbon-neutral building, which aims to be an embassy of creative culture, will showcase local talent in an accessible and inclusive space that will also help protect our environment and continue our fight against climate change."

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Member of Parliament for Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Soeurs, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

"Right from the start of this adventure, we felt that MR-63 could contribute to developing the identity of the emerging community in Griffintown, and create a strong sense of belonging around its attractions, which combine culture, art, gastronomy, history, creativity and architecture. The Sud-Ouest Borough and the City of Montreal are proud partners of this promising and structuring initiative, which will soon be able to develop its full potential in the district."

Benoit Dorais, Vice-chair of the Executive committee of the City of Montreal and Borough mayor for Le Sud-Ouest

"This new legacy builds on the foundations of our history embodied by the MR-63 cars and allows us to propose a vision of the future for our city that combines sustainable development, inclusion and culture."

Frederic Morin-Bordeleau, General Manager and co-founder of MR-63

• The Government of Canada is contributing $6.5 million to this project through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program (GICB) and MR-63 is contributing $8.4 million.
• The GICB program aims to improve the places Canadians work, learn, play, live and gather by cutting pollution, making life more affordable, and supporting thousands of good jobs. Through green and other upgrades to existing public community buildings and new builds in underserved communities, the GICB program helps ensure community facilities are inclusive, accessible, and have a long service life, while also helping Canada move towards its net-zero objectives by 2050.
• For more information, please visit the Infrastructure Canada website.
• At least 10 percent of funding is allocated to projects serving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, including Indigenous populations in urban centres.
• The GICB program was created in support of Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan: a Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, supporting the Plan's first pillar through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the increase of energy efficiency, and higher resilience to climate change. It is providing $1.5 billion over five years towards green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades.

Green and Inclusive Community Buildings:
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gicb-bcvi/index-eng.html

Strengthened Climate Plan:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview.html

Federal infrastructure investments in Quebec
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-qc-eng.html

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SOURCE Infrastructure Canada