Mr. Speaker, on December 21, 1994, the National Biomass Ethanol Program was announced committing up to $70 million in contingent loan guarantees to ethanol producers.
On behalf of the ethanol task force, I wish to thank the Prime Minister, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of the Environment for their commitment to making domestic ethanol production a reality.
This program has already inspired nearly $300 million in private investment for two ethanol plants in Ontario alone. These plants are expected to create 1,500 construction jobs, 150 permanent jobs and add $175 million annually to the local economies of Chatham and Cornwall.
As the name of the program suggests, this is a national program and all of Canada will benefit from this announcement. Canadians will now be able to use renewable, clean air fuel which is domestically produced from Canadian biomass.