John Rafferty is hoping his new shadow cabinet position can help Northern Ontario.
Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay-Rainy River) was given the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario shadow cabinet portfolio Friday morning by new NDP leader Tom Mulcair. Rafferty, who backed Mulcair during the recent NDP leadership race, said he’s happy that Mulcair has confidence in him.
“I’m hoping that with this position I will have some doors opened to me to ensure that Fednor does the job that it’s intended to do and more than anything make sure the resources that Fednor has are shared fairly and equally across Northern Ontario,” Rafferty said.
One of Rafferty’s priorities is to make sure that more of Fednor’s $45 million budget helps northern municipalities tackle the infrastructure deficit.
“Every time I speak with municipalities I hear the same sort of problems and one of them is infrastructure,” he said. “There’s not enough money for roads there’s not enough money for bridges. Municipalities for the most part are happy to share the cost but they need help. Infrastructure is expensive.”
Rafferty said he’s had a good working relationship with Minister Tony Clement in the past and hopes that the two can speak soon about what each other’s priorities for Fednor are.
“I’m hoping that open door policy continues,” he said.
