Speaking Points
Roxanne James, Member of Parliament, Scarborough Centre
Scarborough, Ontario
October 10, 2014
Check against delivery
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, friends and guests, and thank you Minister Goodyear, for that introduction.
I would like to thank Mr. Ferrari and Celplast for hosting today's announcement. C'est un grand plaisir d'être avec vous aujourd'hui.
We've just toured the facility and I was lucky enough to see behind the scenes here on the production floor and in the research and development room.
It is a pleasure to be here to deliver some great news for Celplast and for Canadians.
As Minister Goodyear pointed out, the manufacturing sector employs nearly 1.7 million Canadians, so we are making particular efforts for manufacturing businesses to succeed.
In support of the manufacturing sector, our Government has negotiated trade agreements that will expand market opportunities and create jobs. It has eliminated tariffs on machinery and equipment, making Canada the first tariff-free zone for manufacturing inputs in the G20, and it has renewed the accelerated capital cost allowance in 2013, providing $1.4 billion in deferred taxes to Canadian manufacturers that invest in machinery and equipment.
Since Ontario's economy is critically linked to that of our nation, our Government created the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. For those of you who may not know, FedDev Ontario, as they are better known, delivers programs and services to strengthen this region's economy and position the region to compete globally.
Since its creation, FedDev Ontario has funded hundreds of partnerships and projects in southern Ontario. It has invested almost $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, organizations and communities in southern Ontario.
And today, I am pleased to announce yet another contribution to an innovative company in this region.
This is a special announcement as it is the first project announced under FedDev Ontario's Investing in Business Growth and Productivity initiative, or IBGP, as well as the first under its new suite of funding known as the Southern Ontario Prosperity initiatives.
In addition to Manufacturing Month which Minister Goodyear mentioned, I would also like to note that October is Small Business Month in Canada. This is the perfect time to honour and recognize the small businesses that make up the backbone of Canada's economy. According to Industry Canada, small businesses make up 98.2 percent of employer businesses, with the highest percentage in this province.
One such small business is Celplast, which as you know, is the largest and most advanced independent metallizer in North America.
FedDev Ontario is providing Celplast with over $2 million to purchase new equipment, which will be customized to include Celplast's own proprietary and unique in-vacuum coating technology.
I am pleased to note that the project is expected to create 11 new full-time skilled positions and maintain six existing positions. It will also allow Celplast to offer specialized products in the food packaging and industrial markets that offer improved properties, use less material and eliminate the need for a secondary process. This investment will leverage an additional $6.225 million toward the project.
As I said, this contribution is through FedDev Ontario's IBGP initiative, which is aimed at helping our businesses to compete globally. This will not only result in increased profits for these companies, it will also accelerate economic growth and job creation here at home.
I'm sure you're all aware that Canada's investment in machinery and equipment as a share of GDP remains among the lowest of its peers. As a key driver of productivity, it's an area we want to focus on. Our companies are also smaller than counterparts in other countries, making it difficult to invest in the tools and processes that will help them to grow.
IBGP will increase business adoption of new technologies and processes to improve productivity.
And it will increase business capacity to participate in global markets, diversify markets and integrate into global value chains.
The initiative will also leverage the expertise of not-for-profit organizations to help businesses in these areas.
Our Government believes that it is support like this that can help enable our southern Ontario businesses to grow and remain sustainable over the long-term.
Congratulations again. I'm looking forward to seeing Celplast's new processes take shape. I wish all of those involved the best of luck and success.
Thank you et merci.
