Prince Edward Island’s government plans to flow some of the $13.7 million it will receive from the federal Community Development Trust toward agriculture programs.
Premier Robert Ghiz and Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed P.E.I.’s share of the trust funding in a press release Monday.
The federal government’s $1 billion Community Development Trust, launched in January to be paid out to participating provinces on a per-capita basis over three years, is meant to support “transition, skills training and new job opportunities.”
So-called “one-industry” communities, as well as workers in sectors hit hard by recent economic events (the collapse of the U.S. housing market, the lower U.S. dollar, rising foreign competition), were expected to be the trust’s main beneficiaries.
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P.E.I. said in its release that its share of the funding will go in part toward “assistance to promote environmental stewardship and advance new and sustainable diversification efforts in agricultural communities.”
It also said some funding will be streamed toward “assistance for workers in support of innovation within rural communities in order to build and develop sustainable communities and create new job opportunities.”
Trust funding will also go to retraining and skills development for workers in P.E.I. industries that are downsizing, and to assistance for community economic development to “strengthen and diversify local economies.”
Among other provinces whose funds from the trust are already confirmed, Saskatchewan has made plans to put some of the cash toward biofuels and sustainable energy. Manitoba, meanwhile, plans to direct some of the trust funds toward ag initiatives such as payments to livestock producers and boosting hog slaughter capacity. And Ontario last week said it would put some trust funding toward boosting competitiveness, developing technologies and training affected workers in sectors including agriculture.
