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For Immediate Release
July 17, 2007

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT BOOSTS TOURISM IN PARRY SOUND

Invests In New Tourism Gateway Travel Centre

PARRY SOUND - The McGuinty government is boosting tourism and investment in Parry Sound by investing in the Gateway Georgian Bay Travel Centre, Lou Rinaldi, Parliamentary Assistant (Rural Affairs) to Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Leona Dombrowsky announced today.

"The Gateway Georgian Bay Travel Centre will significantly boost the local economy and will attract new visitors to the region," said Rinaldi. "It will serve as a gateway to attractions and other visitor amenities."

The province will contribute $194,500 to help the Georgian Bay Country Tourism Association (through the Parry Sound Area Community Business and Development Centre Inc.), and its partners, Windswept Investments Inc. and the Township of Seguin build a new visitor service centre. The new centre will serve as a welcome wagon to visitors by providing a one-stop shopping depot, with brochures, an interactive web portal, an innovative mapping component, clothing and memorabilia.

"We are pleased with the support of the provincial government," said Kelly Krist, manager of Georgian Bay Country Tourism Association. "The new centre will stimulate the tourism sector by attracting more than one million stops per year, which will provide much needed opportunities for additional job growth and improved tourism services throughout the area."

This is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results for rural Ontario. Other examples include:

  • Providing $400 million as part of the $1.2 billion Move Ontario initiative for municipal road and bridge maintenance and construction projects
  • Providing an additional $70 million for the Rural Infrastructure Investment Initiative. This means a total of $140 million will be available for improvements to water systems, roads, bridges and other priorities
  • Launching Employment Ontario, a new integrated training and employment system that will ensure people in rural areas have better access to skills training and labour market services tailored to the needs of rural communities. Employment Ontario provides seamless coordinated training, apprenticeship and labour market services, bringing together almost 1200 service providers in all regions of the province.

Today's investment was made through the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, which invests in community-based projects that support sustainable rural economies in three priority areas: improved access to health care services, revitalized communities and downtowns, and enhanced skills training.

Through the RED Program, the province has invested $31.2 million in 108 projects, representing a total of investment of $187.6 million in rural Ontario, since 2003. The Ontario government and its partners are building strong rural communities that work better for the people who live in them.

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Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
416 326-6439

Brent Ross
Communications Branch
416 326-9342

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