Budget brings new initiatives to strengthen the north

Nipissing MPP Monique Smith
News Release

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Recognizing the unique circumstances of northern communities, the McGuinty government’s 2010 Ontario Budget today unveiled new initiatives to strengthen the northern economy.

While many people and businesses in Ontario have been hurt by the recession, those in northern Ontario have been particularly hard hit. That is why the government’s five-year Open Ontario Plan proposes the following initiatives to enhance job creation and economic growth in the North:

A three-year Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program of about $150 million annually, for qualifying large industrial facilities to reduce their electricity prices by an average of about 25 per cent

A new, permanent Northern Ontario Energy Credit of up to $130 for single people and up to $200 for families (including single parents) annually. This credit will help about a quarter of a million low- to middle-income northern Ontario residents with the higher energy costs they face

A new Ring of Fire Coordinator to lead collective efforts in advancing responsible and sustainable economic development in the region

$45 million over the next three years to support a new project-based skills training program to help Aboriginal Peoples and northern Ontarians participate in and benefit from emerging economic development opportunities

Investing $310 million to add 20,000 new spaces to colleges and universities this September. This is in addition to providing $155 million in 2009-10 to fully support enrolment growth at colleges and universities, including $65 million announced through the Fall 2009 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review

$10 million in additional funding for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation;

The government is also continuing to make significant infrastructure investments of nearly $1.2 billion to strengthen northern communities by improving highways, hospitals, water and wastewater systems, and other infrastructure, supporting 10,000 jobs in 2010-11.
These initiatives will be undertaken while also protecting the boreal forest region.

“Families and communities in the North have been hard hit by the global recession, so we are ensuring that they benefit from our Open Ontario plan. Northern Ontario will see more jobs and more economic activity because of this budget,” said Monique Smith, MPP for Nipissing.

QUICK FACTS

The Ring of Fire is an area in Northern Ontario with potentially large deposits of minerals such as chromite, nickel, copper and platinum.

The government has established a new Northern Ontario Entrepreneur Program, under the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). The NOHFC has approved grants to more than 940 projects in 2009-10, leading to the creation and retention of more than 2,300 jobs in the North;

The Business Education Tax provided rate cuts for northern businesses, which benefited from the full implementation of the reduction in 2010, with savings totaling more than $70 million

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