Sheehan says North not being shortchanged on FedNor, confirms big announcement

Editor's Note: An earlier report and an earlier version of this story said tomorrow's announcement will be at 12:30 p.m.. Terry Sheehan's office advises that the announcement will be at 11:30 a.m.

Charlie Angus, New Democrat MP for Timmins-James Bay, is taking aim at the governing Liberals for what appears to be the elimination of the position of Minister of the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor).

The deletion, Angus stated in a news release issued Wednesday, is contained in the Liberals Bill C-24, introduced last week.

Bill C-24 removes a section of the Salaries Act that refers to FedNor Minister as a paid position, making it appear the position is being cut, says Angus.

Sault MP Terry Sheehan, who campaigned against the Harper government and what he called a weakened FedNor in 2015, told SooToday Wednesday he has “not yet had the opportunity to review Bill C-24.”

Navdeep Singh Bains, who serves as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister, is currently reviewing FedNor, as well as economic development agencies for Quebec, southern Ontario and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Sheehan said “right now FedNor and all regional economic development agencies are under review and the Minister (Bains) is trying to figure out how to make things more effective.”

“The Northern caucus has written a letter to the Minister about the need for that to happen, it’s something that needs to be fixed,” Sheehan said.

Angus argues Northern Ontario voices are being 'muted'.

“In the last election Liberals said Northern Ontario needed to vote for someone at the cabinet table. Now we find out that we’re actually losing our only full-time cabinet Minister. What happened to all those Liberal MPs who promised to be champions for Northern Ontario in Ottawa?”

Sheehan said the North is not being short-changed, pointing to a major funding announcement that is set to take place in the Sault Friday.

“We’re going to have a big, big announcement in Sault Ste. Marie that’s going to have immediate benefits for the economy and it’s also going to have some very long-term benefits as well,” Sheehan said.

Details of the funding announcement are not yet fully known, but as reported earlier by SooToday, officials from Algoma University, Sault College and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig have been invited to a news conference at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Algoma University.

It is thought all three post-secondary institutions will receive funding from the federal government for various projects.