RED funding for Downtown District, Prince Edward County

Ontario Rural Affairs Minister Lisa Thompson was in Belleville Tuesday to announce Rural Economic Development (RED) grants for the Belleville Downtown District Business Improvement Area and Prince Edward County.

The $57,427 grant for the Downtown District has allowed them to hire a new Public Relations and Membership Co-ordinator.

Yona Harvey has already started in the position.

BIA Executive Director Danielle Hanoman says Harvey will take the lead in holding monthly town hall meetings with members to work together to combat some of the negative perceptions of downtown.

“I think since the state of emergency, there has been a negative perception of downtown that it is an unsafe place to be which is definitely a perception that is not true. It is safe and we do encourage people to shop, dine and play downtown and just come and have a good time.”

Prince Edward County is also receiving $65,000 through the RED program for its Workforce Development Training for Community Benefit project which will create a pipeline of skilled workers through local training and skills development.

The funding will support the development of a community benefits framework including developing and piloting the framework and rolling out the full training programs to residents based on the lessons learned from the pilot.

Thompson says the grants are part of a more than $5.7 million RED investment in 85 projects to help create jobs and boost economic development in rural communities in Ontario.

“What we’re doing here by coming to Belleville is celebrating the fact that our government is paying attention to all of our communities throughout rural Ontario. And with that, we’re going to make a point of connecting with communities across this province because every single one of these projects will drive dividends that will make a difference.”

Since 2019, the RED program has committed more than $27.4 million to fund 473 projects that are helping to attract investment, create jobs, and boost economic development in rural communities across the province.

The Ontario government is holding public consultations that will ultimately inform the development of the new Rural Economic Development Strategy. Please visit their website to have your say.