Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency we strive to invest taxpayers' money with great care and due diligence. Our commitment to the funds allocated through the short term adjustment initiative was no different.
The projects submitted and evaluated under this program had to meet defined criteria to be considered, and the projects approved met those requirements.
That is why when the Auditor General was asked by the hon. member's colleague from Gander—Grand Falls to look at this initiative, she declined to do an audit.
As the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest knows and has stated in the House, the short term adjustment initiative program for affected fishers and fish plant workers is not and has not been the subject of a special audit from the Auditor General. All ACOA programs, including this one, undergo an internal audit.
Results of this audit will be found on our website and the hon. member is welcome to join other Canadians in reviewing the results of any of our audits at his leisure.
This program is an example of communities working hard to create opportunities during a difficult time. The important numbers now speak for themselves. ACOA designed this program to address 1,200 short term opportunities. Instead, the initiative to date has created some 2,700 opportunities for employment, bringing jobs to families in need and bringing new investments to communities in need of hope.
They are communities such as the historic Labrador town of Red Bay, which is enhancing its tourist potential and developing a venue for small scale manufacturing enterprises thanks to this program.
The town of Channel-Port-aux-Basques will upgrade its railway heritage centre and the Bruce II Sports Complex thanks to this program.
The Banting Historical Trust in Musgrave Harbour honours the legacy and memory of Dr. Frederick Banting, who died with others in a plane crash there in 1941. This centre will build on its interpretation facilities of that event, along with the unique natural history of the area, thanks to this program.
The historic community of Moreton's Harbour will improve its town museum to better serve the growing number of visitors to Newfoundland and Labrador.
As anyone listening will hear, Newfoundland and Labrador's history is also playing an integral part in its future.
Through the short term adjustment initiative we are alleviating this economic setback while building a stronger tourism product for the province as a whole.
Our goal with these and all ACOA programs is to meet the demands of our communities in Atlantic Canada. The greatest demand for this program came from northwestern Newfoundland, which had the largest share of communities impacted through the closure of the cod fishery.
The government does not design programs to meet financial targets; it designs them with people in mind. The government believes in helping those most in need and those affected by economic challenges.
This program was not in the end about dollars and cents. We did our due diligence and we followed our guidelines, but our real goal, one we achieved, was to bring opportunity where there was disappointment and hope where there was no hope.