Standing Committee on Finance

Comité permanent des finances

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 20, 2017 -

As part of its fall 2016 pre-budget consultations, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance met with representatives from the regional offices of Canada’s six federal regional development agencies: the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec; the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario; the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario; Western Economic Diversification Canada; and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

“While the House Finance Committee’s December 2016 report on its pre-budget consultations contains the proposals that Canada’s federal regional development agencies made to the Committee, the agencies presented a great deal of additional, valuable testimony. The Committee’s pre-budget reports focus on the proposals made by witnesses and, consequently, this testimony was not included in that report,” said the Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., Chair of the Committee.

Mr. Easter concluded: “Because of the importance of the federal regional development agencies in supporting the country’s growth and prosperity, the Committee thought it would be useful to summarize the agencies’ testimony, and to indicate the manner in which they help businesses, particular sectors, and specific groups and communities throughout Canada. In that context, I am very pleased to be able to present such a summary to the House of Commons.”

The Committee’s fall 2016 pre-budget consultations report, entitled Creating the Conditions for Economic Growth: Tools for People, Businesses and Communities, and the summary of testimony received from the federal regional development agencies during those consultations, entitled Canada’s Federal Regional Development Agencies Supporting Businesses, Sectors, Individuals and Communities: A Summary of the Testimony, can be found on the Committee’s website.