Brantford —Brant MP Phil McColeman joined the Mayor of Brantford Mike Hancock, and the Chair of the Brantford Olympic Torch Relay Task Force Mr. Bob Coyne today to announce that Brantford’s Olympic Torch Relay Celebrations will be receiving $15,000 in federal funding.

“I encourage everyone to be part of the excitement and enthusiasm that the Olympic Torch Relay is going to bring to Brantford,” said McColeman.

The Olympic Torch Relay is a 106-day journey that will bring all parts of the country together and unite communities as we prepare to welcome the world to the 2010 Winter Games.  The relay will pass through Brantford on December 21st.

“On behalf of the Olympic Task Force Committee here in Brantford I am pleased to express the committee’s pleasure and gratitude on the announcement of the Canadian Heritage Grant in the amount of $15,000,” said Coyne.  “Our committee is comprised of a dynamic group of leading Brantford citizens committed to achieving the best for our community. We are proud and grateful for the recognition and tireless support of our MP Phil McColeman who has again championed the cause that maintains Brantford as a best practices community in our country.”
The Torch will cross the ocean from Greece to Victoria, British Columbia, and then begin a 45 000‑kilometre trip across Canada, involving more than 12 000 torch‑bearers. With stops in every province and territory, the route for the Olympic Torch Relay is expected to pass through 1000 communities and reach approximately 90 percent of the Canadian population. The Olympic Torch Relay journey will end at the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver on February 12, 2010, with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron to signal the start of the 2010 Winter Games.

"I am very pleased that the Federal Government is providing funding assistance to the City of Brantford to host the celebrations of the arrival of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch,” said Hancock.  On Monday, December 21st, 2009, our community will be celebrating the arrival of the torch as it makes its journey from coast to coast to coast encompassing the entire nation.  This contribution will assist the City of Brantford in making the arrival of the Olympic Torch a GRAND celebration.”

For more information on the Government of Canada's contribution to the Torch Relays and the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, visit www.Canada2010.gc.ca.