THUNDER BAY – Election 2015 – “An NDP government under Tom Mulcair will get the Northern Ontario economy moving again with a focus on investment in key sectors and making life better for northern families”, said Thunder Bay-Rainy River New Democrat candidate John Rafferty at the platform launch today.
“Under Stephen Harper, we lost 13,000 jobs in Northern Ontario over the past year alone,” Rafferty said. “An NDP government will invest in strengthening our northern economy and creating good sustainable jobs in our communities.”
“The Conservatives have cut millions from FedNor and left unspent tens of millions of dollars that were supposed to help create jobs and build a more resilient local economy,” Thunder Bay-Superior North candidate Andrew Foulds said.
With a plan geared specifically to Northern Ontario, an NDP government will:
- Upgrade FedNor to a full standalone regional economic agency and increase its funding by $12.6 million;
- Unlock the potential of the “Ring of Fire” deposits by investing $1 billion in strategic infrastructure over the next 20 years;
- Support the growing agriculture sector in the north by investing in rural economies;
- Fix the Nutrition North food subsidy program by immediately including the 25 fly-in communities in Northern Ontario that have been unfairly excluded, and
- Improve critical First Nations infrastructure such as schools, drinking water facilities, roads and other essential services, starting with new investments of $447 million over four years.
“A safe community is one where the roads and bridges are sound, railways are properly inspected and maintained, and where you can drink water out of the tap,” said Foulds.“That’s what we want for all of Northern Ontario.”
