This week our Conservative Government, in partnership with the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT), once again invested in local projects designed to create jobs and help to restore economic stability in our region.

 

As I recently announced, the federal government has entrusted NDIT with $30-million under the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF) to support projects in central and northern British Columbia.

 

CAF was created as part of our Conservative Government’s Economic Action Plan to help reduce the short-term impacts of restructuring in communities that are heavily reliant on resource-based industries, including forestry and mining. It is designed to fund initiatives that create jobs today and in the future.

 

NDIT was chosen by our government to deliver the CAF funding to central and northern British Columbia communities based on the organization’s expertise in local employment needs and economic opportunities. To date, they’re more than fulfilling my expressed mandate for them to be “responsive, yet responsible” when investing CAF dollars.

 

Two weeks ago, NDIT identified 23 projects throughout central and northern British Columbia that will receive $10-million in CAF funding.

 

This week in Prince George, the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, and I had the opportunity to join local business and community leaders as NDIT identified seven more projects in our region that will receive the remaining $20-million in CAF funding through repayable business loans.

 

These approved projects are once again wide-ranging in scope, from the forestry industry to energy efficiency initiatives to health sector improvements. In all, this second round of announced projects will create or maintain over 1100 jobs in our region over the next two years.

 

In Prince George-Peace River, Del-Tech Manufacturing Inc. will receive a repayable contribution of $5.5-million to build a thermal oil plant which will be leased to Canfor’s Mackenzie sawmill, investing in over 240 jobs while also stabilizing work for logging and contractors.

 

Commonwealth Health Corporation is getting a repayable contribution of $1-million for a downtown redevelopment project in Prince George. This funding will be used to complete renovations and upgrades to an existing Prince George building to accommodate the proposed Commonwealth Medical Centre.

 

The Doig River Environmental Limited Partnership will receive a repayable contribution of $614,301 to develop a 32.5 hectare secure landfill facility near Fort St. John. This project is expected to create 20 jobs during its construction period, five to eight new full-time jobs at the landfill, and up to 20 new service and contract jobs.

 

Overall, the $30-million CAF investment made by our Conservative Government, in partnership with NDIT, is a sound investment of federal tax dollars in over 1400 jobs in central and northern British Columbia over the next two years.

 

I could not be more pleased with the partnership we have forged with NDIT and I look forward to seeing what new opportunities it will bring to our region in the future.