SPEC Headlines, Nov. 16, 2003
New Richmond company signs $1.2 million deal for
technology transfer with Chilean partner
Gilles Gagné
NEW RICHMOND - A company based in New Richmond, Activa Environnement, signed
last week a $1.2 million three year deal for a transfer of technology with a
firm based in Chile, COSEDES, which regroups farmers and owners of woodlots.
The contract was signed on November 7th in New Richmond during a stop by a
commercial delegation from Chile. Jaime Valdes Castro, the representative of
COSEDES, signed the agreement with the president of Activa Environnement,
Etienne Barriault. Activa Environnement is a subsidiary of the Groupement
Forestier Baie-des-Chaleurs, a company involved in forestry work on private and
public land since the seventies.
The deal comes as a conclusion of three years of regular dialogue between Guy
Pardiac, the director general of Activa Environnement, and Chilean people
working in forestry.
Game wardens seize animal carcasses, firearms in
Saint Elzéar and Bonaventure
Charges to be laid against 20 people, maybe more
Gilles Gagné
NEW RICHMOND - Fifty-five game wardens seized deer carcasses, moose and deer
meat, bear skins, two vehicles, firearms and other material following a major
bust that took place on the morning of November 11th, in houses owned by alleged
poachers living in Saint Elzéar and Bonaventure.
The operation, called "Lizard", was conducted in 11 houses. Twenty-eight people
were questioned by game wardens. Up to 110 charges could be laid against these
people, but it will take between four and six months before they appear in
court. Four of five people from other regions could also be charged or at least
questioned in relation with the operation.
2003 season billed as fairly good, says Gaspésie
Regional Tourism Association spokespersons
Slight increase in number of visitors
Gilles Gagné
AMQUI - The 2003 season is billed as a fairly good one by the officials of
the Gaspésie Regional Tourism Association. A slight increase of one percent in
the number of visitors was observed by inn and campground owners, as well as by
tourist information agents, who saw 1.7 percent more visitors in their boot.
These slight increases compare to a drop of 4.3 percent in the occupancy rate
observed in inns and campgrounds located in the other regions of Québec. A
constant effort of promotion, even during the rainy last full week of July, and
the beautiful weather of September saved the season in the Gaspé, says Tourism
Association president Francis Dumont.
"The people (involved in tourism) really saved their season by keeping on
promotion campaigns in tough times, when the weather was bad. It paid off. Big
events, such as the Grand Tour (for cyclists) attracted a lot of people. The end
of August and September were beautiful, and it allowed tourist attractions to
compensate for the lost time. In fact, the Percé Rock and Bonaventure Island
Park stayed open until the third week of October, for the first time ever. The
fact that we rely less on European and American tourists than other regions of
Québec also helped to improve our performance, compared to the 2002 season",
says Mr. Dumont.