September 8, 2005
PETERBOROUGH, Ontario September 8, 2005 – The Honourable Peter Adams, Member of Parliament for Peterborough, on behalf of the Honourable Andy Mitchell, Minister of State (FedNor), today announced a Government of Canada investment of $276,250 in the local Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) known as the Greater Peterborough Business Development Centre Inc. The funding will be used to support the ongoing operations of the CFDC over the next year, including business services and access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as community economic development efforts.
“The Eastern Ontario Development Fund (EODF) has already increased economic development and employment opportunities in this area,” said Mr. Adams. “The Greater Peterborough CFDC has a solid track record of supporting the vital small and medium-sized business sector over the past 20 years.”
The Greater Peterborough CFDC is one of 61 Community Futures Development Corporations in rural and Northern Ontario funded by Industry Canada’s Community Futures Program through FedNor. CFDCs deliver a wide variety of programs and services to support community economic development and small business growth. They employ local staff and are each governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of local residents representative of the community.
In the last five years, Ontario CFDCs, through their investment and business counselling activities, invested more than $229 million to help the small business sector create or maintain 26,418 jobs. Last year, the Greater Peterborough Business Development Centre Inc. invested $1,584,117 and assisted in creating or maintaining 156 jobs, contributing to an enhanced business community.
“Through this funding, we will be able to further address youth retention, opportunities in the knowledge-based economy, local infrastructure needs, and new business attraction,” said Daryl Bennett, Chair of Greater Peterborough Business Development Centre Inc. “We look forward to continue helping communities in this region prosper in the years to come.”
Through its investment in CFDCs the Government of Canada is acting on its commitment to support economic growth and diversification in rural communities.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
To find out more about Ontario CFDCs, visit: http://cfdc-ontario.ic.gc.ca
For more information, please contact:
Graeme Wilkes
Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Andy Mitchell, Minister of State (FedNor)
(613) 947-5850
Yves Chateauneuf
Communications Officer, Industry Canada/FedNor
(519) 645-5684 or 1 877 333-6673