For Immediate Release
January 24, 2005

Background Information

Enterprises North Job Creation Program

The refocused Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) now offers capital funding assistance to enterprises that will create jobs in the North.

Assistance, in the form of repayable loans, will be made available through the Enterprises North Job Creation Program to eligible new and existing enterprises involved in the following sectors:

Agriculture
Mining
Forest products
Resource-based, cultural, adventure and nature-based tourism
Manufacturing
Technology
Processing
Telecommunications
Other business activities that will strengthen the Northern Ontario economy.

Generally, enterprises will receive funding based on the number of full-time jobs created in Northern Ontario, with a maximum contribution to any one project of 50 per cent of eligible capital costs up to $1 million.

Eligible costs would include such items as capital construction costs related to business expansion or establishment, leasehold improvements, purchase of equipment, intellectual capital, and other capital investments that result in job creation in Northern Ontario.

For more detailed information on the program, eligibility criteria and available assistance, please see the NOHFC website at www.nohfc.com or visit an MNDM office, Government Information Centre or Small Business Enterprise Centre in Northern Ontario.

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Contacts:

Laura Blondeau
Minister's Office - Sudbury
(705) 564-7454