For Release: September 19, 2006

Mcguinty Government Delivers Results For Rural Ontario

The McGuinty government is on the side of families in rural Ontario. We are delivering on priorities that include success for students, better health, strong people and a strong economy.

The government's priorities include supporting rural economic development and addressing infrastructure needs. Rural families can see programs at work that foster healthy communities and a cleaner environment.

Highlights of the many achievements made in rural Ontario include:

• Rural infrastructure worth close to a billion dollars is being built in municipalities all across Ontario. Investments are being made to improve bridges, roads, waste management facilities, water and wastewater treatment facilities. Through the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, the McGuinty government is investing $298 million in matching funds together with federal and municipal governments to help rural communities upgrade infrastructure.

• The five-year Ontario Highways Strategy will invest $1.8 billion to improve highways in Northern Ontario and $3.4 billion in Southern Ontario.

• $427 million in funding has been committed to 288 public health and safety projects through the Ontario Small Town and Rural Development Infrastructure initiative.

• Access to health care has been improved through the designation of five new stroke prevention clinics, 22 new dialysis treatment systems and diabetes care teams. Seventeen new community health centres and seven satellite centres have been created in rural Ontario together with a province-wide telemedicine program. New schools of medicine to train tomorrow's doctors are being built. On top of funding for hospitals and ongoing programs, the province is investing an additional $134.7 million in these and other initiatives for the health and well being of rural residents.

• The province has also restructured health care delivery to create Local Health Integration Networks to co-ordinate related health services into one local vision.

• The new $13.5 million Rural Student Success program has been implemented to help more young people graduate with a high school diploma. At the same time $51 million has been invested in the rural school buildings themselves making them better places to learn.

• The economic viability of rural Ontario will benefit from diversification and innovation. That is why the government has committed $70 million to support skills training and infrastucture to bring a new Toyota plant and high paying jobs to Woodstock.

• In Northern Ontario, a five-year $680 million investment is focused on generating new forestry sector jobs.

• Stabilization funding to Ontario's farmers has helped our food producers weather depressed commodity prices, trade restrictions and market changes. Over $800 million has been invested over the past three years in farm income stabilization and support programs including specialized programs for the grains and oilseeds sector and edible horticultural crops.

• The $50-million Tobacco Community Transition Fund was established, providing $35 million to allow growers wishing to exit tobacco production to transition into other livelihoods, and $15 million to help tobacco growing areas in Southwestern Ontario to diversify their economy.

• Green energy production from renewable sources has been supported through programs such as the Ontario Ethanol Growth Fund, a 12-year, $520 million program. The Rural Economic Development program has also invested in innovative new energy pilot projects, which create green power while eliminating excess manure from livestock farms.
  

• Students have been helped through the Rural Summer Jobs Service program, which provides incentives for employers to create jobs for rural youth.

• The Meat Industry Transitional Assistance Program is a four-year, $25.3 million initiative to provide assistance to operators of non-federally registered meat plants to meet new regulatory standards under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001. Plant operators can obtain up to $25,000 in financial assistance under the grant component of this initiative.

• The McGuinty government has created the Office of the Chief Veterinarian for Ontario to oversee all issues involving animal health and related food safety for consumers.

• The government's Nutrient Management Act has focused attention on the preservation of land and water resources in rural Ontario. Funding, education and enforcement have combined to improve the compatability of farming and the environment. The strategy includes $23.7 million to help livestock producers make environmental improvements on their farms.

• Since the fall of 2003, 77 projects have been approved through the Rural Economic Development program with a total provincial commitment of over $23 million. These projects have improved access to health care, revitalized local communties, enhanced skills training and boosted local economies.

Other McGuinty government initiatives for rural Ontario include:

• Investing over $6 million in agricultural drainage infrastructure.
  
• Investing $10 million for an Ontario livestock and poultry tracing system that will help the province's agri-food industry enhance competitiveness through traceability initiatives as well as strengthen emergency management.
  
• Exempting farmers from fees for water-taking permits.
  
• Extending coverage for paid farm workers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) in a regulation that addresses the concerns of both employers and employees.

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Contact:
Christopher Flavelle
Minister's Office
(416) 326-3072

Dave McLeod
Communications Branch
(519) 826-3198