Thank you very much for that question. I do appreciate the tone because I understand your concern.
One of the things I want to take this opportunity to highlight, and I mentioned in my opening remarks, is that this government is doing things differently. We really believe that we have a unique opportunity to bring all the regional development agencies together to really leverage them in a way that can bring about meaningful change when it comes to economic development.
As I mentioned, all the economic development agencies now have a collective portfolio of a billion dollars. We're focusing on innovation, clean tech, and scale-up, all key priorities to growing the economy. The idea is to share best practices, to leverage good will, to be able to design programs that also at a national level drive the agenda but meet the local needs.
I'm very happy to say that, when it comes to FedNor and the program we have there, we've been making meaningful investments in that region in aboriginal people, in the forestry sector, and in the mining sector. These investments are leveraging good return on investment with the private sector, with academia, and with local communities. It's really great to be able to collaborate together and to be able to leverage those government initiatives and government funds to be able to get a good return on investment, and it's creating good jobs. So far, the response has been very positive.
As I said earlier on, I have an open-door policy, so it doesn't matter where you live in the country, you can come and speak to me, my team, and my colleagues. My parliamentary secretary does a tremendous job as well in making sure we do a lot of outreach proactively. We have a tremendous team from northern Ontario who are punching above their weight, providing good input and good feedback, and making key investments for us. I'm proud to be part of that team.
I must say that economic development now has become more prominent with a portfolio that's better leveraged with innovation and science as well. I think that sends a clear signal that we have a more coordinated and collaborative approach when it comes to growing the economy and creating jobs.