MIDLAND — The Ernie Eves government is investing $8.5 million in Ontario FIRST (Food Innovation and Rural Success via Technology), a project aimed at establishing Ontario as the pre-eminent Canadian innovation center for grain technologies, Brian Coburn Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, responsible for rural affairs, announced today.

This Rural Economic Development program investment, first announced by Coburn in Trenton on November 13, will benefit both Midland and Trenton. In Midland, it will maintain and create employment and increase dough and grain production by nearly 2 million cases. Additionally, this project will provide a key investment in research that will benefit the entire sector, contributing to higher overall sales and more export opportunities for grain and dough products made in Ontario.

"The Ernie Eves government is pleased to be partner in a project that will strengthen the economy of Midland," said Coburn. "Ontario FIRST is addressing barriers to economic growth and helping Midland and Trenton bolster their economies."

General Mills Canada Corporation, Trenton Cold Storage Inc., New Life Mills Ltd. and Norampac Inc. will provide funding for the balance of the $176 million project.

"We are very excited with today's announcement by the Ontario government," said Christi Strauss, President of General Mills Canada Corporation. "It is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together in strengthening the local economies in rural Ontario."

"This funding will help to stimulate employment in Midland," said Garfield Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North. "This project stands as an example of how provincial support of partnerships among rural industries can lead to economic growth in rural areas."

The five-year, $200-million Rural Economic Development (RED) program is a component of the Ontario Small Town and Rural (OSTAR) Development Initiative — a two-part, $600-million initiative launched in 2000 to assist rural Ontario.

The RED program aims to remove barriers to economic growth in rural Ontario by promoting a diversified business climate, exploring new products and new markets, creating long-term job growth, and investing in technologies and sectors that contribute to economic development in rural Ontario.