Notes for an address by

The Honourable Lynne Yelich
Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification

Funding Announcement

Corresponding Document: News Release (2009-06-05)

Check Against Delivery

Thank you Mr. (Trevor) Wakelin.

Honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen good morning.

It is a pleasure to be here today on behalf of the Government of Canada for this important announcement.

To begin, I would also like to acknowledge my fellow platform guests:

• The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Labour;
• The Honourable Ted Morton, Minister of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development; and
• Mr. Trevor Wakelin, President of the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta.

There is no doubt that the current global recession is affecting our families, our communities, and our country.
 
Communities across Western Canada have been hard-hit by the current economic slowdown.

Here in Alberta, for instance, the drop in global demand and prices for forest products has affected communities that depend on the forestry sector for their economic stability.

This vital sector has historically provided $11 billion dollars annually to Alberta’s economy and employed 40,000 direct full-time staff, while employing thousands more through related industries.
 
Taking action on the economy to support impacted sectors, such as forestry, is this Government’s number one priority.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan is designed to help Canadians weather the global economic slowdown in the short term, while building economic prosperity for the future.

It includes one initiative in particular, the Community Adjustment Fund – or CAF as it is known – that will help communities across the West to prosper.

CAF is a $1 billion Canada-wide two-year economic stimulus initiative designed to create jobs and maintain employment in communities hardest hit by the global recession.

The fund supports affected communities right here in western Canadian, such as those that rely on resource-based industries – like forestry, mining, agriculture and fisheries, as well as communities that depend on the manufacturing sector.

It provides a critical short-term response that will help maintain Canada’s economic strength by creating and maintaining jobs right now, and in the places they’re needed most.

Today, I am pleased to announce the first investment to be made through the Community Adjustment Fund in Western Canada.

The Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta will each invest $15 million dollars towards expanding and implementing the Forest Hazard Reduction and Forest Health Program – also known as FireSmart.
 
Federal funding is being provided under the Community Adjustment Fund, an investment of $1-billion in local economies throughout Canada to create jobs and maintain employment in our communities.

This federal-provincial investment, totaling $30 million, will support projects in rural Alberta communities that focus on forest management activities designed to reduce fire hazards and maintain forest health.
 
Further, the FireSmart Program will play a vital role in helping to sustain and create new jobs.

In fact, it is anticipated that a total of 3,000 seasonal, or more than 1,100 full-time jobs, will be created over two years.

These jobs will help stimulate local economies and enable communities to retain their workforce to support long-term growth after the anticipated recovery of the forest industry.

Through Firesmart, specific projects may include the disposal of debris and eliminating the spread stands of timber that have a high risk of catching fire.

Firesmart will help reduce the threat of fire for communities in forested areas, while protecting the value of existing timber resources.

And, as you know, recent fires in Sturgeon County and Leduc have underscored the importance of supporting initiatives that help protect families and homes in forest-based communities.

I am proud our Government can help deliver opportunities like this to impacted communities in Alberta.

This initiative is the first of many in western Canada that will receive support under the Community Adjustment Fund.

In total, the Government of Canada, through Western Economic Diversification Canada, will invest $306-million throughout the West, including about $104 million over two years to support communities here in Alberta.

Today’s announcement is about addressing our present challenges and building a better future.

I look forward to following the progress of the FireSmart Program as it supports projects that make a significant and positive impact on the lives of Albertans living in affected communities.

I am confident that investments such as these will help ensure the West remains strong, because a stronger West means a stronger Canada.

Thank you.