Clement reacts to FedNor bill

Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement
News Release

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Ottawa, ON – More evidence tonight that the Ignatieff Opposition Coalition is alive and well. This evening, the Bloc Quebecois joined the Ignatieff Liberals and the NDP to vote in favour of Bill C-309 – a bureaucratic make-work project to rename FedNor, Northern Ontario’s regional economic development organization.

“Our Conservative Government is proud to support the exceptional work of FedNor and has consistently opposed Bill C-309’s attempt to impose unnecessary red-tape and
rigmarole on an organization that is already achieving great levels of success,” said MP Tony Clement. “In fact, since 2006, FedNor has created and maintained approximately
23,000 jobs in Northern Ontario.”

FedNor is successfully bringing innovation, well-paying jobs and growth to the people of Northern Ontario and is widely supported by local governments. Why? Because these
governments recognize the effectiveness of FedNor’s focus on economic development and ability to enhance quality of life for Northern Ontarians.

What Ignatieff’s Opposition Coalition fails to realize is that this bill is merely window dressing and will not bring better results for Northern Ontarians. The Liberal-Bloc -NDP Coalition has shown time and time again that they do not understand the people of Northern Ontario; if they did, they would be less concerned about renaming FedNor, and more supportive of the real priorities of the people of the region, like quashing the long gun registry.

Tonight, the Bloc has proven that there is no doubt there is a secret coalition agreement between Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe. Why else would a Quebec
separatist party stand to support a bill that only concerns Northern Ontario? Through our support of programs like FedNor, our Conservative Government is delivering real
results for Northern Ontario. The Ignatieff-Separatist-Socialist Coalition simply cannot claim the same.

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