Together at School with CN and the Alouettes

MONTREAL, Jan. 16, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Montreal Alouettes and CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced their renewed commitment to Quebec schools and students on Monday. Together at School with CN and the Alouettes is a community outreach program that will see Alouettes players visit over 60,000 students at 120 schools in 2012.

"Together at School with CN and the Alouettes will focus on supporting elementary and high school students. Our players go to schools and use examples from both their personal lives and football experiences to discuss the importance of education with kids. They encourage students to make the right decisions," said Alouettes president and CEO Ray Lalonde. "By having our players physically present in schools and interacting directly with the students, our goal is to inspire them and positively impact their lives."

Involved with schools since 1998, the Montreal Alouettes have been teaming up with CN since 2001 to support youth education in Quebec and encourage kids to stay in school. Together at School with CN and the Alouettes incorporates the aspects of the previous program while adding a tutoring and player mentorship component.

Sean Finn, CN's Executive Vice President, Corporate Services, and Chief Legal Officer, said: "At CN, we are deeply committed to building stronger communities, and we feel that it is our responsibility as a good corporate citizen to support young, at risk kids. CN is very proud to partner with the Alouettes again this year for the Together at School with CN and the Alouettes program, which has helped hundreds of thousands of young people across Quebec since its inception."

The 16 players participating in the program have completed a week-long training session by experts in school mentoring and counseling to ensure they get the proper preparation. Leading the way for the group of players taking part in Together at School with CN and the Alouettes in 2012 will be defensive end John Bowman and centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain.

"I'm looking forward to being involved in this program. As a product of the Quebec school system myself, I'm confident that I can relate to these students and make a real difference," said Brodeur-Jourdain, a native of St-Hyacinthe, QC."

Together at School with CN and the Alouettes officially launches the first week of February with visits to the Hebrew Foundation School in Dollard-des-Ormeaux (February 1), École de l'Arquarelle in Blainville (February 2), and École Adrien-Gamache in Longueuil (February 3). For a list of participating schools and more information, please visit CN.school.MontrealAlouettes.com.

About CN
Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca.

Image with caption: "(Left to right) CN Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer, Sean Finn, 11-year-old Jalen Elbert-Fowlkes, defensive end John Bowman, 16-year-old Dylon Lopes-Alves, centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain and Alouettes President and CEO, Ray Lalonde. (CNW Group/CN)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120116_C4376_PHOTO_EN_8971.jpg

For the Alouettes:
Charles Rooke
Director, Communications
514-886-2776

For CN:
Louis-Antoine Paquin 
Manager 
Corporate Communications
514-399-6450