May 6, 2005

ELORA, Ontario, May 6, 2005 – Lynn Myers, Member of Parliament for Kitchener–Conestoga, on behalf of the Honourable Joe Comuzzi, Minister of State (FedNor), today announced a Government of Canada investment totalling $970,000 to the Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) of Wellington-Waterloo.  Of this amount, $700,000 will support the CFDC’s investment activities in the rural communities of Wellington County and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, $250,000 will go toward the organization’s ongoing operations, while the remaining $20,000 will be used for a web-based mapping system.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the economy so it’s important that there are resources to help them succeed,” said Mr. Myers.  “CFDCs have a solid track record of fostering economic development, diversity and employment creation, so we can expect the CFDC of Wellington-Waterloo to play a vital role in the region’s future prosperity.”

The CFDC of Wellington-Waterloo has just completed its first year of operation and 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 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 CFDC of Wellington-Waterloo invested $265,000 and assisted in creating or maintaining 24 jobs, contributing to an enhanced business community.

“This announcement enables us to provide access to capital to local business and to support regional tourism development through internet applications.  A strategic plan to select other community economic development priorities will be completed in the coming year as well,” said Joe Martens, Chair of the CFDC of Wellington-Waterloo.  “We look forward to working with our community partners to help this region flourish.”

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 us at:  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