The Ontario government plans to stream at least some of the $358 million it will receive from the federal Community Development Trust toward agriculture programs.
Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Ontario’s allocation from the fund in a news release Thursday.
The federal government’s $1 billion Community Development Trust funds, to be paid out to participating provinces on a per-capita basis over three years, are meant to support “transition, skills training and new job opportunities” for workers in sectors hit hard by recent economic events such as the collapse of the U.S. housing market, the lower U.S. dollar and increasing foreign competition. So-called “one-industry” towns were viewed as the funds’ main beneficiaries.
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McGuinty didn’t specify in his release which ag sectors could expect funding. He said the community trust cash would go to support improved productivity and competitiveness, technology development, and training for affected workers and communities in “agriculture, forestry, and
manufacturing” including the province’s automotive sector.
The province said it will “consult on the best ways to apply and leverage the new
funding for maximum benefit to Ontario workers.”
That said, the province expected to put some of the community funding toward initiatives such as new skills training centres for Ontario students
and unemployed workers who require skills upgrading. It also plans “specific measures” for communities in northwestern Ontario hit by layoffs in the forestry sector.
Among other provinces that have already signed on for the community trust funding, Saskatchewan has announced plans to put some of its funding toward biofuels and sustainable energy, while Manitoba has said it will direct the funds toward ag initiatives such as payments to livestock producers and boosting hog slaughter capacity.
During the same announcement on Thursday, Harper and McGuinty announced federal cash for a five-year, $156 million Police Officers Recruitment Fund and a $195 million Public Transit Capital Trust for the province.
