Harper receives snowmobile award during Summerside visit
Last Updated: Friday, June 12, 2009 | 2:04 PM AT
CBC News
A national snowmobile organization gave Prime Minister Stephen Harper its highest award Friday for funding an expansion of the national trail network.
Harper spoke at the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations awards ceremony in Summerside, P.E.I.
The prime minister, who attended the ceremony with Fisheries Minister and Island MP Gail Shea, said he was honoured to receive the award because of the group's commitment to preserving the country's heritage.
"Investing in Canada's national trails helps create jobs today. It also opens up new opportunities for tourism businesses and allows more Canadians to enjoy the Canadian countryside in a safe and responsible manner," he said.
CCSO president Kevin Sweetland praised Harper's "exceptional leadership" for giving the National Trails Coalition $25 million in the Jan. 27 budget to build and improve snowmobile trails across the country.
The awards ceremony was part of a meeting of the International Snowmobile Congress on the Island. The event brings together 500 delegates that represent major snowmobiling areas around the world.
Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart, who was elected president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities on June 7, welcomed Harper at the airport.
The visit comes a day after the federal Conservatives unveiled their second quarterly economic progress report.
The report outlined the federal government's progress on infrastructure projects across the country, including investments in Summerside's wind farm and its sewer system, as well as the restoration of Queen Street in Charlottetown.
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