NOTE TO EDITORS: Official launch of Export Development Days, St. John�s, May 26

Judy Foote, Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, John Patten, Chair of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) - Newfoundland and Labrador Division, and Karen Skinner, Acting Director General of Program Development and Delivery with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), on behalf of Gerry Byrne, Minister of State for ACOA, will officially launch Export Development Days in St. John�s on Monday, May 26. The event will take place at the Johnson GEO Centre, at 10:00 a.m. Media are invited to attend.

Export Development Days, which takes place May 26-30, is a celebration of exporting and the role it plays in the economic and business growth of Newfoundland and Labrador. Export Development Days is a partnership of the Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Trade Team Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters - Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media contact:
          Tansy Mundon, Industry, Trade and Rural Development, (709) 729-4570
          Olivia Letemplier, Office of Minister Gerry Byrne, Minister of State for ACOA, (613) 954-2487
          Doug Burgess, Director, Public Affairs, ACOA, (709) 772-2935
          Sean McCarthy, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, (709) 772-3682

2003 05 23                                     2:20 p.m.