Economic Development Initiative Funding Announcement

Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament for Ottawa Orleans on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario

Ottawa, Ontario 
June 15, 2010

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Good morning. Bonjour et merci.

It is my pleasure to be here on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario, with Mariette Carrier-Fraser and other distinguished guests.

It is with great pride that I am here, on the eve of the 35^th anniversary of the Festival Franco-Ontarien taking place here in Ottawa, to make an important announcement related to the Francophone communities in the area.

As you know, the French presence in Ontario dates back nearly 400 years to 1639.

Today, after four centuries, Ontario's francophone community makes up nearly 5 per cent of the province's total population and represents the largest francophone community in Canada outside of Québec.

The Franco-Ontarian community is diverse and vibrant, with many institutions and associations in the fields of education, culture, health, justice, the economy and communications.

This is why our government is continuously taking steps to stimulate the economy and create jobs to support Ontario's dynamic Francophone community.

In order to satisfy the immediate and longer term needs of Ontario's Francophone communities in particular, we launched the Economic Development Initiative last year.

The Initiative will help Francophone communities and organizations strengthen their economic foundation and competitiveness by stimulating growth in sectors such as tourism and culture, as well as the knowledge-based and manufacturing industries.

The Initiative is a part of the "Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008–2013: Acting for the Future," the Government of Canada's strategy for official languages.

I am pleased to be here today to announce support for seven Francophone organizations that will benefit from an investment of more than $189 000 for business and community development activities under this Initiative.

This includes support for L'Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario for follow-up activities from a province-wide forum to develop a community strategic plan for Ontario's Francophone population.

Through FedDev Ontario, the Government of Canada is playing an active role in the transformation of southern Ontario's economy.

The Economic Development Initiative is instrumental in FedDev Ontario's efforts to ensure the continuous economic growth and sustainability of southern Ontario and its official language minority communities.

The Initiative will advance the development of new expertise through innovation, diversification of economic activities, as well as partnerships and increased support of small businesses.

We want to ensure that we are providing communities with the resources they need to return to a cycle of prosperity and growth.

I look forward to seeing these local projects get underway and the positive effects they will have for our Francophone communities.

Thank you. Merci.