Clement highlights budget's positive points for northern Ontario

MP Tony Clement
News Release

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Ottawa – Today, the Honourable Tony Clement, Member of Parliament for Parry Sound–Muskoka and Minister responsible for FedNor, highlighted the many positive measures contained in Budget 2011 for northern Ontarians.

“The priority of our Conservative Government has been—and will remain—to support hard-working Canadians and their families, create local jobs and stimulate economic growth. The concrete actions that we have taken in Budget 2011 do just that,” said Minister Clement. “I am very pleased at the level of investment we are making in Northern Ontario. These are important measures that will help reinforce and strengthen our communities.”

Since 2006, the Harper Government has invested nearly $300 million in FedNor, Northern Ontario’s regional development organization. Budget 2011 not only maintains this high level of funding but boosts FedNor’s budget by an additional $4 million over the next three years. FedNor is an extremely successful program, which is lauded by community organizations, local businesses and municipal governments in northern Ontario. Over the past five years, 23,000 jobs have been created thanks to the Harper Government maintaining FedNor’s base budget year-to-year.

“This additional funding is yet another way that our government is helping stimulate the Northern Ontario economy, create local jobs, and invest in research and innovation. Investments like this help ensure that Northern Ontario can continue to be a key player in our economy,” noted Minister Clement. “We’ve also got a number of new Conservative members of Parliament representing Northern Ontario ridings.

MP Jay Aspin (Nipissing–Timiskaming) and MP Bryan Hayes (Sault Ste. Marie) will be adding their strong voices for northern Ontarians in Parliament.”

Budget 2011 also introduces many other important investments, in particular targeted tax relief for our families to help folks keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. These measures include:
student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who set up shop in Northern Ontario; major investments in our forestry sector to help connect with new opportunities abroad; a third increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for our most vulnerable seniors; and
tax credits for small businesses, family caregivers, volunteer firefighters and a children’s art tax credit, among others.

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