Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors (NOLUM) members travelled to Ottawa this Wednesday to attend high-level meetings regarding federal spending on northern Ontario economic development.
Those in attendance included Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger, Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Christian Provenzano and North Bay Mayor Al McDonald.
Provenzano said the group appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Northern Ontario caucus and Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the minister responsible for FedNor, which provides about $31-million annually for economic development in northern Ontario.
“We recognized their government's recent and significant investments in our communities and discussed ways we can work together to improve Northern Ontario's economic development through the improvement of FedNor,” said Provenzano.
NOLUM has reported that the meetings were both very productive discussions, with both the Caucus and Minister Bains, reiterating their support for FedNor, and to continuing their ongoing and positive relationship with NOLUM on northern issues.
The group hopes FedNor will increase funding on par with the provincial Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), which provides about $100-million a year for economic development in the region.
They also hope the federal agency will streamline the application process and work in closer conjunction with NOHFC.
“I would like to thank Minister Bains and the Northern Ontario Federal Liberal Caucus for the meetings. This is a great start to long-term collaboration and I’m pleased with both conversations,” said Bigger. “FedNor is important to the economic vitality of northern Ontario and we are pleased to work with the government of Canada to make the north even more prosperous.”
“The meetings were extremely positive with the Northern Ontario Liberal Caucus and Minister Bains in regards to FedNor and bringing economic prosperity to Northern Ontario,” said North Bay Mayor Al McDonald. “The partnerships which have been developed between the Northern Ontario Liberal Caucus and the Minister bode well for the future.”
Provenzano notes there is more work to be done on the FedNor file.
“I am confident more progress can be made and look forward to further collective effort,” said Provenzano.
—With files from Sudbury.com
