SPEC Headlines, June 22, 2003

The budget: A transition exercise, according to Nathalie Normandeau
A source of concern for business people
Gilles Gagné

Delegate Minister of Economic and Regional Development Nathalie Normandeau thinks that the contribution of the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands to the straightening up of the financial situation of the Québec government was inevitable, despite the precarious state of the economy of the region.
Minister Normandeau was, on the other hand, surprised to see the abolition of a certain number of wind energy suppliers of equipment from the list of sectors that can no longer claim a refundable tax rebate based on the wages paid for new jobs created.
The tax rebate was kept for other economic sectors, but it will gradually be reduced from 40 percent in 2002 to 35 percent in 2003 and 30 percent in 2004.

Defi des 2 Tours raises $18,000 for region’s youth
Charlene Eden 

            The third edition of the Defi (Challenge) des 2 Tours ended this past Sunday, with the cyclists arriving in Gaspe and joining participants of the Tour de Baie Cycle at Wakeham playground around 12:30 pm.  The cyclists, who began their journey in Montreal on June 8th, covered a total of 1250 kilometres.  The Challenge however is not only a cycling event, as it is used to raise money for the ADO Foundation.
          According to Jean-Yves Huard, president of the Defi des 2 Tours and the ADO Foundation, this year’s Challenge raised $18,000 for the Foundation, bringing the total funds that the Foundation has accumulated in the past few years to $70,000. The interest from the funds is used to help the region’s youth participate in sports and other activities that they are unable to afford.
            During a closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the Hotel de Ville in Gaspe, Gaetan Lelievre, the town’s director general, congratulated the Challenge’s participants for their dedication to aiding youth in the Gaspe MRC.  “For us, for the town it’s an important event because of the ADO Foundation, because we have lots of kids who need help,” he said.

NASCO meeting may help region’s salmon industry
Charlene Eden 

            The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), made up of representatives from Canada, the United States, Denmark (for the Faeroe Islands and Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia and the European Union, held its 20th annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland between June 2nd and 6th.  The major outcome of the meeting was an agreement restricting wild salmon harvests for Greenland.  But other important measures were also adopted to help protect the Atlantic salmon stock.
            According to the agreement, Greenland will suspend its commercial fishery for Atlantic salmon in 2003, including in the West Greenland area.  Greenland however will be permitted to undertake a modest salmon fishery for subsistence needs this year.  In 2002, Greenland’s commercial quota was limited to 55 tonnes.     
            The agreement is argued to be integral to protecting salmon stocks originating from rivers in Canada, including those in the Gaspesie region, as 68% of the Atlantic salmon intercepted in the West Greenland fishery is of North American origin.  Salmon stocks from the United States and Europe will also benefit from the agreement.