Tribute to financial empire founder of lumber and pulp and paper industry -
The Government of Canada highlights the national historic importance of Sir
William Price (1867-1924)

SAGUENAY, QC, June 23 /CNW Telbec/ - On behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment and Minister Responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Minister of State (Agriculture) and Member of Parliament for Jonquière-Alma, today commemorated the national historic significance of Sir William Price.

"Sir William Price was a true innovative industrialist, an icon of industrial development in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region," Minister Blackburn stated. "He could see, late in the 19th century, the dawn of a new era with the appearance of pulp and paper mills."

In the early 20th century, Sir William Price created a financial empire in the lumber and pulp and paper industry. He joined the family lumber business in 1885, assuming control in 1899 as it teetered on the brink of failure. To diversify his company's activities, Price bought a pulp mill at Jonquière and helped guide the shift from lumber production to pulp and paper, an industrial sector in which Canada would emerge as a world leader by the 1920s. One of his largest mills, built at Kénogami, ranked for a number of years as Canada's premier producer of newsprint.

"Today, Canadians honour the memory of Sir William Price," stated the Honourable Jim Prentice. "I am pleased that we are paying tribute to him in the presence of his family descendants, in the park which bears his name and where he is laid to rest."

The ceremony took place in the Sir William Price memorial park in Saguenay. Approximately 40 Price family descendants were in attendance, including family spokesperson Evan Price, a great-grandson of Sir William Price.

Parks Canada manages a nation-wide network of national historic sites that commemorate persons, places and events that have shaped Canada's history and which offer visitors the opportunity for real and inspiring discovery. Parks Canada works to ensure that Canada's historic and natural heritage is presented and protected for the enjoyment, education, appreciation and inspired discovery of all Canadians, today and in the future.

For additional information, please see the accompanying backgrounder at www.parkscanada.gc.ca under Media Room.

For further information: Karine Parenteau, Communications Advisor, Quebec, Office of the Director General, Eastern Canada, Parks Canada, Tel.: [phone], Cell.: 418-569-4460; Dominique Gobeil, External Relations Manager, Saguenay-St.Lawrence Field Unit, Parks Canada, Tel.: [phone] # 240, Cell.: 418-473-6439