Western Economic Diversification Canada
www.wd-deo.gc.ca
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Frequently Asked Questions
- How much of the Community Adjustment Fund is being invested in the West?
- Who has benefited from the Community Adjustment Fund?
- Is the Community Adjustment Fund a permanent program?
- What type of communities are CAF projects benefiting?
- Did Western Economic Diversification Canada fund businesses under the Community Adjustment Fund?
- How were projects assessed?
- When were successful applicants notified if their projects received funding?
- Were there any special requirements for successful projects that received funding?
- Who can I contact if I have questions about the initiative?
1. How much of the Community Adjustment Fund is being invested in the West ?
The Community Adjustment Fund will inject $306 million in Western Canada over two years to help create jobs and support adjustment measures in communities impacted by the global economic downturn.
top of page2. Who has benefited from the Community Adjustment Fund?
Many communities across Canada rely on industrial sectors that have been hard hit by current economic conditions, including forestry, mining, energy, agriculture, fisheries and manufacturing. The Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) is giving priority to severely affected communities that are resource-based and/or that depend on a limited industry base.
3. Will the Community Adjustment Fund become a permanent program?
The Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) is a two-year program. All projects funded under the CAF must be completed no later than March 31, 2011.
4. What type of communities are CAF projects benefiting?
Communities with populations under 250,000 that have been adversely affected by the economic downturn were eligible to apply for projects under CAF. These communities:
- Have experienced significant job losses and lack alternative employment opportunities, or
- Have experienced at least a 20% increase in the number of EI beneficiaries in the past year.
The focus of the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) is to help create and/or maintain jobs in the short-term. The fund supported projects in and around affected communities. Priority was given to rural, single industry communities that are reliant on resource based industries (i.e.: forestry, mining, energy, agriculture and fisheries) and to communities that were reliant on the manufacturing industry.
5. Did Western Economic Diversification Canada fund businesses under the Community Adjustment Fund?
Businesses located in and around affected communities were eligible to apply for funding under the Community Adjustment Fund to create new jobs or maintain jobs that would otherwise be lost.
6. How were projects assessed?
Priority was given to projects in and around eligible communities that:
- Were located in rural, single-industry communities;
- Created jobs and maintain employment;
- Leveraged funds from provinces, territories and other funding partners;
- Built on partnership arrangements already in place (e.g. federal-provincial/territorial agreements) and existing programs; and,
- Provided a legacy of longer-term economic benefits.
7. When were successful applicants notified that their projects received funding?
Western Economic Diversification Canada contacted successful applicants immediately after their applications were approved in order to begin work on the project immediately.
8. Do successful applicants have to follow any special requirements to receive funding?
As projects are implemented, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) will monitor recipients’ progress against a set of performance milestones included in each contribution agreement. Recipients will be required to report quarterly on progress towards job creation and other measures.
An independent evaluation will also be conducted at the end of the program to evaluate success and effectiveness, and to measure short-term outputs such as the number of jobs created and/or maintained, new business start-ups, number of projects approved and total funds committed.
9. Who can I contact if I have questions about the initiative?
For additional information view the program fact sheet. If you have further questions about the program, you may contact us directly at any of our offices, by email, telephone, fax, or mail.
