Can't wipe the smile off his face

Industry Canada Minister Tony Clement receives a standing ovation from Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty and North Bay Mayor Victor Fedeli, for infrastructure funding announcements for the region.

North Bay Mayor Victor Fedeli
News Release

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North Bay Mayor Victor Fedeli "can't wipe the smile" off his face today, after receiving news that the City's 10,000' airport runway will be paved, with funds from the Federal government.

"We owe a great deal of thanks to Minister Clement for making this announcement. Every single regional Council, as far away as Sudbury, passed a unanimous motion supporting North Bay's runway project, and I know they were listened to" said Mayor Victor Fedeli. "Thanks go out to every citizen, every business, our MP Anthony Rota, and everyone else involved in lobbying on our behalf" added the Mayor.

"The deal really came together over the Christmas holidays, after a meeting between Minister Clement, Deputy Mayor Peter Chirico, and I" said Mayor Fedeli. "When the meeting ended, the Minister instructed his staff to deal with this every day over the holidays, until a way was found to get our runway done" the Mayor added. Minister Clement was back in North Bay January 9th and met with Mayor Fedeli and Deputy Mayor Chirico and the details were finalized.

North Bay will receive $5,288,300 under Transport Canada's Airport Capital Assistance Program. This will pay 50% of the resurfacing of the runway. In addition, the Jack Garland Airport will receive $5 million from the newly-announced G8 Fund. This will allow for the full restoration of the entire 10,000' runway.

The fact that the funds are earmarked from the G8 Fund opens the door to North Bay's participation of this exciting venue in June of 2010. Leaders from the G8 countries will descend on Huntsville, and North Bay's close proximity makes it a natural choice for the world leaders to land.

"We continue to lobby for a G8 role for North Bay and look forward to hearing positive news from the Federal Government in the months to come" added Mayor Fedeli.

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