Tony demands: 'FedNor must become standalone agency'

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN

****************************** NDP demands budget give Northern Ontario its own development agency

“FedNor must become a stand-alone agency to better serve Northern Ontario” - Martin

OTTAWA - NDP Mining and FedNor Critic, Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt) today called on Industry Minister Tony Clement to commit the necessary long term funds to make FedNor a stand-alone federal development agency similar to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions (IDEA-SME), and the Southern Ontario Development Agency (SODA).

“Minister Clement has an opportunity with tomorrow’s Budget to turn FedNor into a fully funded, stand-alone development agency,” said Gravelle. “Last year, the Harper Conservatives allocated $1 billion over five years to SODA. This year, Northerners expect that same attention.”

“Turning FedNor into a fully funded economic development agency would provide transparency and accountability,” said Glenn Thibeault, MP for Sudbury. “As a full agency, FedNor’s spending plans would be available for analysis and debate by parliamentarians when the government tables its Main Estimates.”

Former New Democrat Fednor critic Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie) introduced in Parliament the first private member’s bill calling for an independent FedNor.

“FedNor must become a stand-alone agency to better serve Northern Ontario,” Martin said.

The Main Estimates provide Canadians with a listing of departmental and agency spending for the upcoming fiscal year.

There are other opportunities to examine departmental and agency spending throughout the year, such as through regular reporting and the Supplemental Estimates.

“As it stands, FedNor is only a departmental initiative, so its spending plans are not open to public scrutiny. Parliamentarians can only examine current and planned spending by FedNor if it is a stand-alone economic development agency,” said Gravelle. “Otherwise, we only find out about funding projects when the Minister makes an announcement.”

“This current method does not provide a long term snapshot of the government’s development priorities for Northern Ontario,” added Thibeault.

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