May 11, 2005

BRANTFORD, Ontario, May 11, 2005 – Lloyd St-Amand, Member of Parliament for Brant, today announced a Government of Canada investment of $750,000 to the local Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC), known as Enterprise Brant.  The funding will be used to support the ongoing operations of the CFDC over the next three years, including business services and access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as community economic development efforts.

“The Government of Canada recognizes the important role CFDCs play in strengthening the regional economy,” said Mr. St-Amand.  “This funding helps the Brant CFDC continue to build community capacity, foster diversification and encourage new business development in the area.”

Enterprise Brant is one of 61 CFDCs 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, Enterprise Brant invested $1,112,278 and assisted in creating or maintaining 80 jobs, contributing to an enhanced business community.

“We are eager to move forward with our plans to boost the local economy by revitalizing the downtown area of Brantford, promoting broadband development in the region, fostering local agri-business growth, and providing e-commerce training to community organizations and small enterprises,” said Colleen Miller, Chair of Enterprise Brant.

Through its investments 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 Joe Comuzzi
(613) 947-5850

Robert Naud
Senior Communications Officer, Industry Canada/FedNor
(613) 954-3691 or 1 877 333-6673