AngusCharlie_NDPGovernment documents confirm what communities and organizations in Northern Ontario have known all along, the budget of FedNor has been cut over the past several years.

In addition to cuts documented elsewhere, the government’s own documents show that FedNor’s budget was cut by $9.2 million between 2012 and 2015, and a further $5.6 million is planned for 2015-2016.

The Government needs to make a commitment to restore FedNor’s budget, says NDP MP Charlie Angus.

“We’ve been saying for years these cuts to FedNor exist, while the previous government pretended otherwise, but, we now have their own documents to prove it. We need to stop the cuts and stalled projects that have become commonplace in FedNor,” said Angus.

FedNor plays a crucial role to diversify North Ontario’s economy and invest in infrastructure, yet it is buried within the much larger Science and Innovation Ministry. Angus is concerned that FedNor is the only economic agency that is not standalone.

“Repeated cuts and stalled projects at FedNor show why it is so important that we finally establish FedNor as a standalone economic development agency to ensure greater independence, transparency and accountability. I respect the work of the new Minister but when I see planned cuts for this year, it tells me that this is government is not listening to the issues that are relevant to our region.”