Paul Lefebvre
Here in Northern Ontario, our communities and businesses continue to demonstrate their courage and resilience during these difficult times. It’s been a long two months for all of us, and there are many months more to go before life can begin to return to normal.
Through it all, I’m proud that the Government of Canada has had your back, and the commitment to provide the resources Sudbury families and businesses need to get through this together will continue.
Late last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the new Regional Relief and Recovery Fund, including $49.5 million for Northern Ontario to be delivered through FedNor to help businesses and organizations in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, tourism and others that are key to our local economy.
The RRRF will enable FedNor and its partner Community Futures Development Corporations to support a broad range of projects that will help us overcome the significant hardship brought on by COVID-19 and rebuild our economy for the long-term. In Sudbury, the program will be delivered through the Nickel Basin Federal Development Corp.
In Northern Ontario and Sudbury, FedNor and Nickel Basin will deliver:
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$24 million for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing financial pressure; and
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$25.5 million for rural businesses and communities with access to capital and technical support, delivered by Northern Ontario’s Community Futures Development Corporations.
The RRRF will be available to Canadian or provincially incorporated business, Indigenous organizations such as Indigenous/First Nation/Métis Settlement owned businesses in Northern Ontario, as well as not-for profit organizations facing funding pressures with operational costs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program will provide interest-free, repayable and conditionally repayable loans up to a maximum of $250,000 to help support businesses with operating costs, where business revenues have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this announcement, our government is incorporating the continuing success of FedNor into our pandemic response. In 2017, our government effectively doubled FedNor’s annual budget to $47 million, and then boosted it again by $28 million in 2018 with programs designed for mining supply and service sector and for women entrepreneurs. Add it up, and our government has boosted FedNor’s budget by more than $100 million since 2016.
Throughout this crisis, our government’s No. 1 priority has been to support Canadians. More than 11 million Canadians have enrolled in direct support programs for laid-off workers, the self-employed, gig-economy and contract workers, as well as students and seniors. These programs are designed specifically to help Canadians deal with loss of income, coupled with the added costs and anxieties many households are experiencing.
Our government has also supported businesses through wage supports, loan guarantees and lease subsidies. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in uncertainty and anxiety for businesses and their employees, and these programs were designed to help businesses weather the pandemic storm.
Nationally, the RRRF will deliver $962 million to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who are unable to qualify for existing measures. Canada’s businesses are as diverse as Canadians are, and the fund’s immediate, concrete help will be tailored to their unique needs.
Our message to Canadians is clear: we are here for you now; we will be here for you in the difficult weeks and months to come; and we will get through this together. We’ve got your back.
Applicants are encouraged to contact FedNor for any questions regarding the Application for Funding. For more information, call 1-877-333-6673 or contact a FedNor Officer.
Paul Lefebvre is the Liberal MP for Sudbury and the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Natural Resources.
