Montreal Gazette - Aluminum giant pledges $10M to hospitals; Rio Tinto Alcan rallies business community

Showing the importance of business leadership in building a better - and healthier - community, aluminum-production giant Rio Tinto Alcan announced Wednesday it is donating $10 million to the joint corporate campaigns of Montreal's two new university hospital centres.

In addition to helping fund two projects with a combined budget of more than $4 billion, the mining company is attempting to mobilize the business community as the McGill University Health Centre and the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal continue to seek corporate support as they each try to raise $300 million.

Speaking about "social responsibility and good citizenship," Rio Tinto Alcan chief executive Jacynthe Côté said the company is donating $5 million to the MUHC, and $5 million to the CHUM, with $2.5 million of McGill's money going toward the Children's hospital.