Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to comments made earlier by the member for Kenora regarding repayable funding provided to Skritswap in 2019 by the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.
Right from the get-go, let me make one thing very clear to set the mind of the member opposite at ease.
This federal contribution is a loan, not a “no strings attached” grant. Whatever money has gone to Skritswap, it has been with the very clear condition that if a company fails to meet its goal of growing business in northern Ontario, it will need to pay back the funds in full.
We invested in Skritswap because our government understands the importance of investing in northern Ontario to create good jobs and grow the economy. FedNor has long been a key partner for entrepreneurs in northern Ontario, and they work with businesses and entrepreneurs to build stronger communities.
We have seen this, loud and clear, throughout the COVID pandemic. Through our regional recovery and relief fund, RRF, FedNor has supported more than 130 organizations with more than $23 million. Through this funding, we have directly supported more than 1,800 jobs. Further, these grants have gone to organizations that show the diversity of our region.
As of October 15, 33 RRF recipients are women-owned or -operated, 16 are indigenous businesses, 43 are tourism businesses and 112 are located in rural areas. The same goes for FedNor-funded Community Futures organizations. To date, we have provided more than $22 million to nearly 650 organizations, and directly supported more than 1,500 jobs here. Of these Community Futures clients, 247 are women-owned and -operated, 44 are indigenous business, 224 are tourism businesses and all 645 are in rural areas.
These are important numbers, because they show, time and again, that our government is there for businesses in northern Ontario, in all these ridings, when those businesses have needed help.
I will also note that it is strange that the Conservative Party is focused on this in particular. For whatever reason, Conservatives have decided to dust off a story that was initially reported in the summer of 2019 and to which we have consistently said that the money will be repaid if the company fails to meet its goal of creating jobs in northern Ontario. They may not be proud of the work that FedNor does and they may want to discourage other women entrepreneurs from entering the tech field in northern Ontario, but we are proud to be helping entrepreneurs create jobs in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie and across northern Ontario.
I would also like to take a moment to talk about the company, Skritswap, because it is clear the Conservatives would like to muddy the waters. Since 2015, the company has received attention for its work on artificial intelligence. It has attracted venture capital, not just from FedNor but from angel investors in Canada and the United States. It has done this while headquartering in Sault Ste. Marie.
Contrary to what the Conservatives claim, Skritswap reports having no employees located outside of Canada, let alone in California. It has four permanent employees, two in northern Ontario and two located in southern Ontario. On top of that, it has created 16 temporary skilled contract jobs across Canada since the pandemic began. The company understands that any jobs created from the FedNor funding need to be created in northern Ontario, or else the company will have to repay it all in full.
Of course, Skritswap faces the challenges of how to recruit and retain talent in northern Ontario. We understand that many entrepreneurs across northern Canada face the same challenges. That is why our government is supporting immigration to rural Canada through programs like the rural and northern immigration pilot, which is helping entrepreneurs and employers find the talent they need to compete and which will help our rural communities prosper.
The reality is that these companies are exactly the type of business that northern Ontario and Canada need. These are the jobs of the future. To support these job creators, we must continue to work to address the skills gap in the region and to invest in entrepreneurs. We are proud of how FedNor is working with the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, Algoma University and Sault College to identify good opportunities. We are proud to be a government—