Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'm pleased to be here today to discuss Western Economic Diversification Canada's work at implementing Canada's economic action plan and activities in western Canada over the last 18 months. I am joined today by my colleague, Cathy Matthews, our deputy chief financial officer for the department.
As you know, Western Economic Diversification Canada, or WD as we're known, is the regional development agency responsible for the four western provinces.WD's primary mandate is to promote economic growth, development and diversification in western Canada.
In addition to our core programs, our department has also been responsible for delivering a number of federal adjustment programs in western Canada on behalf of the Government of Canada over a lengthy period of time.
WD has developed strong relationships with provincial, regional, and municipal bodies and a range of community organizations that played an extremely valuable role when it came to delivering Canada's economic action plan.
Just like other regions across Canada and countries around the world, western Canada was hit hard by the recent economic downturn. Many communities had the misfortune of seeing their major employers reduce their operations and in some cases shut down completely. The economic events of 2008 were unprecedented and proved to be the challenge of our time.
As you know, the Government of Canada responded to the global financial crisis with the announcement of Canada’s economic action plan on January 27, 2009.
Immediately following the January 27 announcement, WD began work in earnest on program design, operational and delivery aspects of the programs.
By mid-May, WD launched the community adjustment fund and recreational Infrastructure Canada program, sometimes known as RInC, in western Canada with calls for proposals.
To ensure all Western Canadians were informed, all EAP program information was made available on the public website, regional staff engaged in dialogue with provincial governments and held numerous outreach activities with partners, communities and a number of organizations across the west.
The volume of applications was significant. By the June deadline, WD had received over 1,600 applications for the RInC program, requesting in excess of over $400 million in federal funding, almost triple the allocation we had available.
At the same time, WD processed over 1,000 CAF applications, requesting in excess of $2 billion in funding--again roughly six times the allocation we had available--and approved 314 projects that will use all available project funds for western Canada.
Consistent with the objectives and guidelines established for CAF and the RInC program, WD'S due diligence not only ensured projects met all eligibility requirements, but also focused on guaranteeing projects could start quickly and create jobs, while meeting the March 31, 2011 timeframe of the Economic Action Plan.
Through the exceptional contributions of staff, these projects were evaluated and by June we were already starting to announce funding commitments.
If I use the word “exceptional”, and it's not something I use on a regular basis, I simply say it because in comparison to the economic action plan, WD processed approximately 10 times the number of applications that we would typically see in a normal year.
That means that less than six months after this program was announced, western communities were already seeing the benefits.
Communities began receiving the much-needed support to improve recreational infrastructure across the west. But perhaps most important of all, jobs were being created and people were getting back to work. In fact, if you look at the project reports that people send in to us, our clients forecast nearly 3,000 full-time-equivalent jobs will be created or maintained as a result of RInC projects in the west. We'll confirm those numbers as time goes on and fit them into the modelling that is going to be developed. But we did ask the clients as they were developing those things, and those are the numbers they tell us.
Since then, our department has continued to work extremely hard to deliver RInC program funding to the communities that need it most.
To date, under the RInC program, WD has approved over $149 million in funding for 718 approved projects. Our RInC investments have leveraged an additional $415 million from other sources towards western communities. This leverage funding, which would not otherwise have been invested, particularly in the economic context we've been through in the last year and a half in these communities, is particularly important in the context of this economic climate.
More than 200 of these projects are already complete and over $55 million has already been expended.
To date, the RInC program has helped approximately 440 communities across the west, communities ranging from the Pacific Ocean to Hudson's Bay. Funding has already reached communities like Winnipeg, where RInC has helped replace the fields at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex. The upgrades are increasing the number of games that can be played each day, and as a result of this project the complex is a more attractive venue to hold national and international events. The official grand opening of the Winnipeg Soccer Complex was held on September 25, 2010. And in communities like New Westminster, British Columbia, where funding helped upgrade and expand the Century House Centre for Active Living to better serve the community, added amenities and a 4,000-square-foot addition will allow the centre to introduce new multi-generational activities.
The grand opening of this renovated centre just last month had over 200 people in attendance—a sign that this facility really will bring the community together.
These are just some of the examples of how RInC funding is being delivered in communities across the west.
On the issue of winding down these stimulus programs, the Government of Canada has always been clear this funding will end on March 31, 2011. This was an explicit term that was part of all public materials, our project funding decision process, and our contribution agreements with proponents.
WD will continue to work with proponents to ensure that the projects will finish on time. In our opinion, most of the projects will finish on time. I would even add that the vast majority will do so.
We have monitored projects closely, we have maintained close contact with proponents throughout this timeframe, and our analysis suggests we can anticipate 94% to 96% of the funding will be delivered on target. In reference to other programs we deliver on a usual basis, this is a very high standard of achievement. We will continue to monitor the progress of these projects closely, as we have done throughout the process, and we will continue to provide regular reporting and accounting to our ministers and to Parliament.
In addition, I would also like to note, we are continuing our work with our colleagues at this table from Infrastructure Canada to ensure Building Canada Fund—Communities Component top-up projects in western Canada also finish on time.
To summarize, we have worked closely with proponents throughout the program's life to ensure they stay on track. We anticipate 94% to 96% of the funding will be delivered on target. Nearly 3,000 full-time-equivalent jobs will be created or maintained, we're told by our project proponents, as a result of RInC projects that touch approximately 440 communities across western Canada.
We are making a difference in the lives of western Canadians in these communities.
Thank you for your time this afternoon. I look forward to your questions.
Merci.
