Government of Canada supports search and rescue in Québec by investing in boating safety initiative

Today, on behalf of the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice–Champlain, Québec, announced $378,700 in funding to the Regional County Municipality of Les Chenaux (MRC des Chenaux) for their one-year initiative entitled Safe Navigation: Awareness, Prevention and Implementation of Boating Safety in the MRC des Chenaux.

August 14, 2026 – MRC des Chenaux, Québec

Local knowledge, public awareness and well-equipped responders all play an important role in strengthening search and rescue efforts.

Today, on behalf of the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice–Champlain, Québec, announced $378,700 in funding to the Regional County Municipality of Les Chenaux (MRC des Chenaux) for their one-year initiative entitled Safe Navigation: Awareness, Prevention and Implementation of Boating Safety in the MRC des Chenaux.

Public Safety Canada is funding the initiative through the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF), which supports projects that improve Canada’s search and rescue system.

With this new funding, the MRC des Chenaux’s fire department will launch a public awareness campaign to promote safety during water activities. They will also obtain specialized training and equipment to strengthen their response capacity in river rescues.