For Immediate Release
August 29, 2007

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS EASTERN ONTARIO REVITALIZATION PROJECT

Converting Plant Will Create Jobs, Benefit Environment

BANCROFT - The McGuinty government is investing in the revival of a manufacturing plant to produce environmentally friendly wood products and provide jobs for 45 people, Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, announced today.

"This retrofit will turn a closed particleboard plant into a productive manufacturing facility meaning permanent jobs and economic development in North Hastings," said Dombrowsky. "Just as the plant will be recycled, so will the products it manufactures, making it an economic and environmental win."

The province will contribute $1,177,457 to help Firelogic Inc. and Loyalist College of Applied Arts and Technology convert the particleboard plant into one that manufactures wood briquettes and pellets. The initiative will assist with hiring and training 45 new employees, as well as the development of an apprenticeship program.

"Thanks to the support of the provincial government, we can go ahead with a facility that will have long term economic benefits for the community," said George Hasenberger, president of Firelogic Inc. "Not only will the apprenticeship program enhance the skills of local employees, but the product is environmentally friendly since the raw material required to make it is the by-product of local sawmills and logging operations."

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

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 $45.1 million in 139 projects, representing a total investment of $477.4 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