ST. THOMAS, ON - The City of St. Thomas held an official ceremony today to celebrate the completion of upgrades to Memorial Arena. 

Joe Preston, MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London; the Honourable Steve Peters, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London; and Her Worship, Mayor Heather Jackson-Chapman of St. Thomas, are pleased to see this important community recreational infrastructure project reach completion. 

The classic 1950’s Memorial Arena has been upgraded with new heating, electrical and lighting systems, plumbing fixtures, doors and interior finishes; in addition, the parking lot has been resurfaced. The upgrades will allow the arena to meet community needs well into the future.

The governments of Canada and Ontario, and the City of St. Thomas have each committed up to $175,000 to eligible costs for the project, which has a total cost of $525,000.

"Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, we are creating jobs and providing families with recreation facilities that will be enjoyed by all ages for many years to come,” said MP Preston.  “Investments in projects like these not only promote active lifestyles but also provide families with recreational facilities to enjoy for future generations.”

“The project we are celebrating today supports the provincial government’s Open Ontario plan to stimulate the economy and create new opportunities to support healthy, active living while creating jobs,” said MPP Peters. “In St. Thomas, Open Ontario is supporting local trades and businesses while promoting a stronger, healthier community.”

“This project helped to stimulate our economy by supporting local businesses” said Mayor Jackson-Chapman.  “The upgrades completed will ensure the residents of St. Thomas will enjoy this recreational facility for years to come”.

This project is one of more than 760 across the province that are moving forward thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of more than $380 million under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) Program in Ontario and the Ontario Recreation Program (Ontario REC). The governments of Canada and Ontario teamed up to support Ontario's communities and create jobs by improving recreational infrastructure, as these types of projects also encourage higher levels of participation in physical activity and community building. For more information on this initiative, please visit www.rinc-on.ca.