Two Tonies still tussling over FedNor

by Keely Grasser

Mar 12, 2008

ALMAGUIN — Almaguin’s MPs are still spatting over FedNor.

This week, Nipissing-Temiskaming MP Anthony Rota sent out a release saying that Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement has “once again exposed his lack of knowledge and understanding regarding FedNor funding.”

But Clement said Rota’s evidence for this is wrong.

Rota claimed that the previous Liberal government delivered “stable ongoing FedNor funding” in the 2005 budget, but says the Conservative government has cut FedNor funding.

Clement has previously said his government ensured FedNor’s funding over five years, something the Liberal government never did.

However, Rota said the Liberal funding was an annual increase over five years — Rota said FedNor’s annual budget was set at $51.9 million, plus an additional $6 million for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in 2006-2006.

Rota points out that shortly after coming into power, the Conservatives tabled an evaluation of FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Fund (NODF), which confirmed the stable funding at $51.9 million.

“The facts clearly show that the previous Liberal government was the first to give five-year guaranteed funding to FedNor and the dollar figure was set at $51.9 million per year. When the Conservative government came to office, the funding was cut by $6.4 million to the current annual budget of $45.5 million,” Rota said.

But Clement said that Rota’s basing his statements on budget documents in which Liberals promised an increase of $18 million for the NODF in the 2005 budget, but actually only delivered an extra $7 million, $6 million of which went to the NOSM.

“He’s using unfunded and undelivered Liberal promises as the crux of his argument,” Clement said.

Rota said he didn’t think that the promised money wasn’t delivered, but said he wasn’t 100 per cent sure.

“I’d have to double check on that,” he said.

Clement added that the only cuts made to FedNor were Liberal budget-mandated cuts.

“I’ll compare my record and the Stephen Harper government’s records to the Liberal record any day of the week,” Clement said.

He added that, “once again, I’ll have to spent time correcting (Rota’s) misstatements on issues.”

Rota said that arguing amongst themselves is getting them nowhere.

“We can’t afford to fight against each other,” he said. “We need to come together.”

He said it’s “time for co-operation as opposed to propaganda.”

Rota is calling on the government to reinstate the $51.9 million in FedNor funding.