The McGuinty government has badly bungled the delivery of hundreds of millions dollars in financial assistance to Ontario’s troubled forestry industry, says NDP Leader Howard Hampton.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request initiated by the NDP shows that nearly two-thirds – $91.8-million out of $150-million – of the government’s Forest Sector Prosperity Fund remained uncommitted at the close of the program. The FOI request also found that of the $350-million allocated to the Loan Guarantee Program, $281.9-million remains uncommitted.

“The McGuinty government has displayed complete incompetence at getting this much-needed assistance out the door. The government’s bungling and mismanaging of these programs is a betrayal of forestry workers and their families,” said Hampton.

“This money – half a billion dollars – was pledged to the forestry sector to sustain and create jobs. It’s unconscionable that 11,000 workers have lost their forestry jobs while the McGuinty government earns interest on money it pledged to save these jobs.”

During this morning’s Question Period, Hampton quoted the previous Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay, who boasted in a September 2006 press release that: “We expect that 100 per cent of the Prosperity Fund will be committed to investments like this by the end of 2006.”

“For a minister to predict that the forestry grant program would be fully subscribed and for us to find out more than two years later that three-quarters of the money hasn’t been spent, is an insult to northern Ontario communities that have been devastated by forestry job losses,” said Hampton.

He is calling on the McGuinty government use some of the remaining assistance money to assist municipal goverments in Iroquois Falls and Fort Frances in acquiring hydro dams from AbitibiBowater. Reports indicate the company may sell the dams, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

“Instead of allowing Abitibi to sell off the power dams to a company that many not give a damn how many jobs are lost in northern Ontario, the McGuinty government should take the money, flow it to the municipalities, allow them to buy the power dams and use those power dams to support jobs,” said Hampton.