Speaking Points
The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
July 8, 2014
Check against delivery
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, friends and guests. Thank you for the warm welcome.
I'm so excited to be here to celebrate what the Canadian Film Centre, or the CFC, has accomplished over the past few years to strengthen the digital media capacity of Canada's growing entertainment industry.
Canada is very well known for our work in the entertainment and creative industries. It was Canadian filmmakers and entrepreneurs who created the IMAX motion picture projection system. As you are all well aware, it revolutionized the cinema experience.
Since 2003, employment in Ontario's entertainment and creative industries has grown faster than employment in the broader economy. It supports more than 300,000 jobs and contributes more than $12.2 billion annually to the provincial economy.
It's a major contributor to the economy and we want to ensure it continues to be. To do that, our media professionals need to be able to keep up with the latest technological advances and consumer demands as everything is going digital.
Interactive digital media have changed how people are entertained and how they seek entertainment. People play Shake & Spell, instead of the good old board game of Boggle. Even children are using drawing apps instead of crayons and paper.
These types of adjustments are happening in all industries in our economy. As a result, our businesses and organizations need to transition to succeed. My agency, FedDev Ontario, was created to help build on the strengths of the region. I'm proud of the results we are seeing from our strategic investments.
We have invested nearly $1.2 billion, resulting in partnerships with more than 5,300 organizations and more than $1.5 billion in additional leveraged investments from almost exclusively non-government sources to support businesses, manufacturers, organizations and communities here in southern Ontario.
This includes funding of $3.5 million for the Canadian Film Centre to launch programming to help accelerate the development of digital entertainment products and services.
And acceleration is exactly what has happened here with this project, as 50 new products and services have been developed, with many gaining international recognition.
More than a third of these were also commercialized, which is significant given that this is often a challenge for entrepreneurs.
Finally, the CFC's project attracted 61 partners and collaborators from the business and not-for-profit sectors, including OCAD University here in Toronto.
This is a true demonstration of how working together enables each partner to bring its expertise to the table, enabling home-grown ideas to become a reality that people can recognize all over the world.
As you can see, this project has significantly contributed to the creative industries that exist across our region—industries that create new high-value jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for our communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you that jobs, economic growth and prosperity are the priorities of our Government. And while each level of government has a role to play in creating and maintaining an environment for this to occur, for our part we are setting the right macroeconomic conditions for success.
We have lowered corporate tax rates. Most recently, in the Focus on Tax report, KPMG concluded that Canada's taxes are the most business-friendly in the world.
We have eliminated unnecessary regulatory burdens and we continue to work in this area. We have made Canada the first completely tariff-free zone for manufacturers in the G-20.
In fact, last year Canada leapt from sixth place to second place in Bloomberg's ranking of the most attractive destinations in the world for business.
We have a strong job growth record compared to other countries, with employment in Canada increasing by more than 1.1 million since 2006.
We have ensured fair and transparent government procurement and provided important and timely job training.
We have also opened the door to new markets with millions of new customers with free trade agreements.
We're also on track to balance the budget this year.
Ladies and gentlemen, Canada is now in a position where the landscape for business growth in our country has never been as fertile.
It is organizations like the CFC and its activities that will help to support entrepreneurs and businesses in the entertainment industry, so that they can keep contributing to our economy.
Thank you. Merci.
