Liberals pledge $80M for ED plan
BYLINE: Joyce Cassin
The Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus has asked the province for an annual guaranteed Eastern Ontario Development Fund, and Northumberland-Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi is offering just such a plan for Eastern Ontario, should he and his Liberal Party get re-elected in the October 10 provincial election.
The new Eastern Ontario Development Fund to help promote economic growth is expected to be a key feature in the Liberals' upcoming election platform, Mr. Rinaldi says. The fund will invest $20-million annually, for a total of $80- million over four years, in the hopes of stimulating economic development and creating more jobs in the region.
"I'm proud to be running with a Liberal team that understands the needs of Eastern Ontario," Mr. Rinaldi said during an announcement Friday morning in Cobourg. "The Eastern Ontario Development Fund is something that we have been pushing for quite some time in meetings with caucus and candidates. This really is an example of our voices being heard.
"This fund creates that long-term sustainability to give those on the front lines of economic development the tools to do their jobs more effectively," he added. "It will help to level the playing field in the competitive arena of our global economy."
Mr. Rinaldi said that the Liberal government intends to work with stakeholders, municipal leaders, businesses, economic development agencies and centres of excellence in Eastern Ontario to design the best possible way to leverage these funds.
"In this area of the province, we have an abundance of hard work and innovation. There is no question in my mind that these funds will be leveraged to harness that talent," Mr. Rinaldi said.
"This is the best news I have ever heard for Eastern Ontario," Northumberland County Warden Hector Macmillan said. "MPP Lou Rinaldi believes in the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus Prosperity Plan and has made it a priority for his government. The McGuinty Government has agreed, and today there is a bright light shining all over eastern Ontario. We will rebuild our communities to be safe, healthy and strong."
Innovative productivity, advanced manufacturing, community and resource development and alternative energies, with an emphasis on agri-foods, biosciences and alternative fuels, are some of the areas that could benefit from this $20-million annual fund.
"From the new Kellogg's plant in Belleville, to our $700,000 investment in GE Plastics here in Northumberland to create a unique plastics Centre of Excellence, to our $6-million investment in Trenton for cutting-edge steam reform technology, where a green technology initiative has secured 140 high- paying jobs in this riding - our government has made key investments to keep the region strong," Mr. Rinaldi said.
He stressed that Eastern Ontario cannot be an afterthought. It must be the driving force of the positive direction he wants for local communities, he said, pledging to never stop advocating on its behalf.
"The creation of an Eastern Ontario Economic Development Fund reflects the culmination of the collective efforts of organization such as the EO Warden's Caucus, Ontario East Economic Development Commission and the CFDC's of Eastern Ontario to support economic renewal for the region," Eastern Ontario Development Program regional co-ordinator Dan Borowec said. "It is a credit to the efforts of the individuals such as MPP Rinaldi to drive this initiative forward because it will create the economic capacity to generate wealth in rural Eastern Ontario."
"It is wonderful that the government has been listening to the needs of Eastern Ontario," said Chris Herrington, mayor of Brighton and chair of the Quinte Economic Development Commission. "We look forward to seeing this put into action."
"I really am excited about this platform piece," Mr. Rinaldi said. "It is humbling to be a part of what I hope will be a historic plan. For me, it is, and always will be, about community capacity building through partnerships. Without the capacity to work united for the common cause, we will fail."
The Eastern Ontario Development Program is a federal program that has helped fund more than 200 different projects and affected thousands of employees, with funds being leveraged 3-1, Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation executive director Wendy Curtis says. This announcement means that even more funds can be leveraged and more partnership formed to create a good sound economic base for Eastern Ontario.
"Lou (Rinaldi) really spearheaded this project," Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal said. "He instinctively knows what we need here in Eastern Ontario. Eastern Ontario could take the opportunity to use local border crossing to open up the market to the U.S."