By Jeff Helsdon
Staff Writer

Local politicians are hailing the launch of a new development agency for southern Ontario as a step in the road to economic recovery.

A new Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario was announced by the federal government in this spring’s budget. To be known as FedDev Ontario, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the agency would be headquartered in Kitchener. FedDev Ontario has a $1 billion budget over the next five years.

Tillsonburg Mayor Stephen Molnar was pleased with the announcement.

“Southern Ontario Development Agency will be a flagship and we foresee some strong relationships with it in the future,” he said.
Molnar hopes the new agency will have a commitment to a rural focus and equitable funding.

He was encouraged that Dr. Bruce Archibald, a former senior provincial bureaucrat Molnar had dealings with through the South Central Ontario Region, is going to be heading up the new agency.

Oxford MP Dave MacKenzie welcomed the announcement.

“We’ve been asking for it for a while, particularly those of us from southern Ontario because it’s obvious we’ve been hard hit,” he said. “We’ve been an economic driver for the country with automotive for years.”

Although there’s been some talk of creating satellite offices outside of the headquarters in Kitchener, nothing has been finalized.
MacKenzie said Oxford is a possibility though.

“We already have some vehicles that deliver the services that already exist,” he said, mentioning the Oxford Small Business Centre in Ingersoll and the Service Canada locations in Livingston Centre and Woodstock.

Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Joe Preston said the announcement would be huge for southern Ontario, and in particular laid-off workers and struggling manufacturers.

“It gives them a chance to participate in research and development and economic development,” he said. “People put forward proposals for economic development and now there’s an agency that can bridge that to the federal government.”

Preston was at the announcement and spoke to Gary Goodyear, who will be the cabinet minister overseeing the new agency, about what Elgin-Middlesex-London needs.

“I took advantage of the fact the prime minister and new minister were there to say ‘Here we are in southern Ontario and we need to be part of the solution’,” Preston said.

Haldimand-Norfolk MP Diane Finley said the timing of the announcement is important, as southern Ontario is one of the areas hardest hit by the economic downturn.

“It’s important to recognize until now southern Ontario was the only part of Canada that didn’t have an economic development agency,” she said. “This is something I’ve been fighting for since I first went to Ottawa in 2004.”

As examples of how business and industry would benefit, Finley cited the new agency could fund start-up and expansion of companies, partnerships and joint ventures. She expected the guidelines would be similar to other economic development agencies and suggested those interested look at the web sites for Canada’s other development agencies.

As Regional Minister for Southern Ontario, Finley expected to be working closely with Goodyear on the agency.

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