By Nick Stewart
Despite labeling the City of Greater Sudbury as an industry leader in mining research, the Minister of FedNor says he cannot commit any funding to regional plans for a Centre of Excellence for Mining Innovation (CEMI), yet.
When prompted by incoming Sudbury Chamber of Commerce chair John Bonin to make a positive announcement on the topic, Tony Clement told the group’s annual general meeting on Oct. 11 that the impending municipal elections were preventing him from making any open commitments towards CEMI.
“As you may know, the Government of Canada must now refrain from announcements until after municipal elections, so I’m afraid we’ve got a little bit more waiting to do,” he says.
“After the elections, I will be pleased to review CEMI’s status.”
This prompted Bonin to urge Clement, who is also the federal Minister of Health, to return to the city once more on Nov. 14, the day following the local elections, so he could deliver the news many of the 220 attendees had been waiting to hear.
While Clement failed to indicate as to whether he would take Bonin up on his offer, he was quick to point out the lack of an announcement was not necessarily a bad sign for the CEMI project.
“The project hasn’t been rejected,” says Clement. “We’ll make an appropriate announcement at an appropriate time.”
Clement also took the opportunity to trumpet his eight-month-old minority government’s various successes and business-friendly initiatives, including the one per cent cut to the Goods and Services Tax and the reduction of the general corporate income tax to 19 per cent from 21 per cent by 2010.
He pointed out the advantages Northern Ontario has seen through FedNor, including the Youth Internship Program, which has provided nearly 1,000 young Northerners with practical work experience in non-profit organizations and small businesses following post-secondary graduation.
Further highlighting FedNor’s recent efforts, Clement detailed how the Nickel Basin Federal Development Corp. has had its funding renewed for another two years, so it may continue to provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
As the MP for the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka, Clement is the only Northern representative within Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s caucus. As such, he is fully aware of the importance FedNor has within the development of important business opportunities for entrepreneurs and communities in this part of the province, he says.
“It is essential to establish partnerships for economic development, diversification and the creation of sustainable jobs,” says Clement. “A strong Northern Ontario is supported by strong programs.”
He says it is such reasons that his first action as the Minister for FedNor was to implement an increase to its current level of funding, with the new total of $36.2 million up from the $35.5 million allotted by the prior Liberal government.
When asked about the possibility of a rumored change in FedNor’s funding structure which would enable the direct subsidization of businesses, rather than its current consultant-focused approach, Clement was non-committal without dismissing the idea outright.
“The terms and conditions of FedNor have been approved for another five years, but within those terms and conditions, there’s still a lot of room to obtain the feedback of communities,” he says. “That’s what I’ve been doing all summer and into the fall throughout northwestern and northeastern Ontario to find out how better FedNor can operate with a view to being ready for the 21st Century. These discussions are still ongoing.”
Between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, its mining-related achievements and its progressive efforts to attract and develop business, Sudbury represents a unique and important city with the Canadian tapestry, Clement says.
“Sudbury is a touchstone for Canadian resilience and opportunity.”
