OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Oct 25 2011 (Marketwire via COMTEX) —
Rodney Weston, Member of Parliament for Saint John, on behalf of the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today announced that five organizations in New Brunswick will receive Government of Canada funding to attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment.
“All of these organizations play important roles in identifying and attracting job-creating foreign direct investment,” said MP Weston. “The funding announced today will help ensure that investors from around the world look to New Brunswick communities as destinations of choice for new investment opportunities. This will help to create jobs and prosperity for hard-working New Brunswickers.” The funding is provided under the Invest Canada – Community Initiatives (ICCI) program, which helps communities attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment (FDI). Across Canada, ICCI is providing funding to 99 organizations to support their efforts to attract FDI.
“It is important that Saint John position itself for future growth and prosperity,” said Stephen Carson, Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Saint John. “ICCI has enabled us to undertake a study on how to attract foreign investment in the health and life sciences sectors, areas of potential high growth for our region.” Foreign investment directly benefits Canadian citizens by creating jobs, raising incomes and strengthening Canada’s competitive position. This federal support will help Canadian communities successfully attract, retain and expand FDI.
“In these globally challenging times, Canadians remain concerned about their jobs and their children’s futures,” said Minister Fast. “Our government has an economic plan to meet these challenges-a plan with deeper trade and low taxes as its centrepiece. Thanks to our government’s support for local communities, our low tax policies, our strong economic fundamentals, and our skilled, innovative workforce, Canada remains an excellent destination for new investment.” In New Brunswick, the community investment program will help fund the following initiatives: — The City of Miramichi’s online interactive asset map for its region — Enterprise Fredericton’s social media strategy for international investment and investment training — Enterprise Greater Moncton’s life sciences strategy and investment training — Enterprise Saint John’s life sciences and health study to attract investment to the city — Enterprise Kent’s development of an enterprise commercial real estate website and investment training.
The Invest Canada – Community Initiatives program, one of the components of the Government of Canada’s Global Commerce Support Program, funds up to 50 percent of community-based activities aimed at developing and executing local investment-attraction strategies. Applications are evaluated based on the proposed strategy, project components, performance measures, work plan and the level of public-private-sector partnership. Funding amounts this year range from $3,780 to $252,500.
Eligible communities can apply for funding once per year following the guidelines found at Invest Canada – Community Initiatives (ICCI).
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/harper-government-helps-new-brunswick-attract-international-investment-secure-jobs-growth-1576918.htm
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