Timmins chamber resolution gets national support

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce supports a Timmins Chamber of Commerce resolution to make FedNor a standalone agency.

The Timmins chamber resolution dealt with FedNor’s status as the only such initiative in the country to be a program within Industry Canada, rather than an independent agency. This status prevents the public from measuring FedNor’s performance or spending as its numbers are folded into Industry Canada’s reporting.

The recommendation posed by the Timmins chamber was to ensure full equality among all of Canada’s regional economic development agencies by asking the federal government to convert the FedNor program into a standalone agency, while making use of the same financial and staffing resources.

“This has long been an issue for our members, and we are extremely pleased that chambers of commerce from across the country support our position that FedNor needs to become a standalone agency,” said Christine Leclair, president of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.

“We are firm in our belief that the federal government needs to apply the same standards to all of Canada’s regional economic development initiatives. This is a win not just for Northern Ontario, but for taxpayers across Canada who contribute to FedNor’s $50-million annual budget.”