SPEAKING NOTES

for The Honourable Gerry Ritz Secretary of State
(Small Business and Tourism)

on behalf

of the Honourable Jim Prentice, PC, QC, MP Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians

Announcing Funding for The däna Näye Ventures Canada Loan Fund

Whitehorse, Yukon
June 22, 2007

Check against delivery

Thank you.

It’s a pleasure to join you here today.

I want to thank the däna Näye Ventures Board members and General Manager Ms. Chambers for the warm welcome, and to say what a pleasure it has been to be greeted here in Whitehorse by my colleague Mr. Rouble, the Yukon Government Minister of Education.

Minister Prentice regrets that he couldn’t be with us and asked me to send his warmest greetings. Promoting economic development in the North is one of his highest priorities.

The Minister has pointed out that when it comes to economic development in the North, the stakes have never been higher.  A booming national economy and a youthful population present unprecedented economic opportunities for Northerners. People in the Yukon have shown that they have the entrepreneurial skills, they have the ideas and they have the will to take advantage of economic opportunity.

But small businesses can sometimes face particular challenges meeting the requirements of traditional financing. 

Today, we’re here to take an important step in opening the door of opportunity for a new generation of northern entrepreneurs.

Canada’s New Government will provide $2.45 million to provide small-business loans to new and developing non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal enterprises in Yukon. 

It’s part of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s Targeted Investment Program.  This funding will create the new däna Näye Ventures Canada Loan Fund.  Small businesses in the Yukon will have access to loans of up to $100,000.

I want to thank däna Näye Ventures for partnering with us.  Your experience working with the small business sector is going to help us unleash the tremendous economic potential that we know exists within northern communities. You know, during my own career, I’ve run a farming operation, owned and operated a general contracting business and co-owned a weekly newspaper.  I know that for any small business, access to capital can sometimes be a challenge.

But in going through the process, you learn a lot about business planning — and how to make your business viable.

And when a person gets that first loan, it gives them a confidence boost, too.  That’s because someone with business acumen — like the people at däna Näye Ventures — has said, “your idea has promise and we have faith in your ability to make it work.”

So, you’re helping to build up people as you invest in businesses.  And there’s no limit to what they might achieve.  As their small businesses succeed and grow, it will mean jobs and opportunity for many others.

We’re proud to work with you. This funding is going to pay real dividends for northern or small businesses and for people throughout the Yukon.

Best wishes on the many successful ventures ahead for you and your clients. 

Thank you.