Technology centre gets nearly $440,000 boost

FORT FRANCES—The new Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre got a financial shot-in-the-arm Tuesday after Northern Development and Mines minister Michael Gravelle announced a grant of $439,492 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. for the technology centre portion of the future facility.
“By facilitating the availability of electronic information and training, we are providing entrepreneurs new technologies and hi-tech training opportunities that will help develop and grow businesses in the Rainy River District,” said Gravelle, who also chairs the NOHFC.

The centre will house a training lab, video-conferencing equipment, research software, and meeting rooms, as well as offer services such as wireless Internet and streaming video.
It will employ one full-time technician to assist clients.
In partnership with the Northwest Ontario Innovation Centre and Rainy River Future Development Corp., the technology centre will make it easier for area businesses to obtain expertise in areas such as market assessments and product development, and will improve access to high-speed Internet services.
Gravelle said the new library and technology centre has “generated a tremendous amount of enthusiasm locally” and was impressed by the “Building for the Future” fundraising campaign, which had raised more than $835,000 as of yesterday.
“It’s great work, and I commend the community for its unwavering support of the library and technology centre project,” Gravelle noted. “Clearly, we very much share your enthusiasm for this facility. It will very much enrich the lives and broaden the horizons of local citizens.
“The technology centre will become the resource hub for the district,” he added. “As such, it will support small businesses, it will help entrepreneurs develop innovative ideas and projects that will establish new enterprises.”
Gravelle said according to the study, “Northwestern Ontario: Preparing for Change” conducted by Dr. Robert Rosehart, small- and medium-sized businesses can—and must—play an important role in the economic diversification of the region, and Dr. Rosehart recommended a climate be created locally that encourages the creation of new businesses and the growth of existing businesses.
“Certainly, our government, the McGuinty government, agrees, and we are acting on this and many other of Dr. Rosehart’s recommendations to create a climate today that will bring future growth and prosperity throughout the region and throughout the north,” Gravelle pledged.
Deputy Mayor Sharon Tibbs thanked Gravelle for the NOHFC funding, adding it “provides another piece of the financial commitment from the parties to have our project become a reality.”
She added mayor and council recognized the need for the community to keep pace with technological change, and through partnerships with senior government, has been able to provide quality facilities for a well-rounded lifestyle for residents.
“This facility will be an important resource not only for Fort Frances, but for our larger community­—the Rainy River District,” said Coun. Tibbs. “We view this project as a component that can help attract professionals to our area that are looking for a unique lifestyle that we enjoy—a full service community and a backdrop of trees, lakes, the best sunsets, and outdoor adventures second to none.”
Reading a message from Mayor Roy Avis, who was away Tuesday on family business, Coun. Tibbs noted: “The Town of Fort Frances is most appreciative of your ministry’s funding for one of our many initiatives. The addition of the new Fort Frances Technology Centre will assist in facilitating the use of emerging technologies and, in turn, promote the creation of new businesses in Fort Frances and the Rainy River District.”
Joyce Cunningham, chair of the Fort Frances Public Library board, was delighted at yesterday’s announcement.
“This is very exciting. It’s always wonderful to get a grant from the government, but it’s exciting for a few ways, actually,” she remarked. “It represents a coming together of a dream, really.
“The technology centre is an exciting and innovative project that I think will be of benefit to so many in this community. And it’s good to see so many different individuals and groups and levels of government coming on board.
“It also shows the McGuinty government does believe in different ministries working together and I think that’s going to be more and more important,” Cunningham added. “The library as the hub of a community is a wonderful place to start to bring together all those different levels of government and different ministries.”
Cunningham said the library building committee still intends to put out a request for proposal (RFP) this month to construct the new library and technology centre, and most recently has been busy fine-tuning the final drawings.
The most up-to-date budget for the project showed a building cost of $3,941,871, with an extra $383,371 included both to cover an estimated 12 percent inflation in building and material costs due to delays, as well as re-design fees in the amount of $25,000.
This makes for a total budget of $4,325,242.
So far, the library project has received a $1.6 million grant from the Ministry of Culture while the “Building for the Future” campaign has raised more than $835,000. The town also applied for a grant from FedNor, but still is waiting for any announcements.
Gravelle started on a tour of regional communities yesterday in Thunder Bay. There he announced the completion of a $6-million broadband Internet infrastructure enhancement project, supported by a $2.5 million contribution by the NOHFC, called the Northern Ontario West Ring Broadband Project—something the new technology centre here will “dovetail nicely” with once complete.
The Northern Ontario West Ring Broadband Project will expand significantly the capacity of the information superhighway throughout the region, addressing the future telecommunication needs and the increasing service reliability for Fort Frances, Kenora, Vermilion Bay, Oxdrift, Ignace, and many other surrounding communities, including six First Nations.
“Establishing this kind of productivity with the rest of the world is absolutely essential to supporting the efforts of northern communities as you work to expand and diversify your economies. In my view, if you’re going to be on the information superhighway, it’s important that you’re a driver as opposed to a hitchhiker,” Gravelle quipped.
“This initiative is going to help people in Fort Frances and other Northwestern Ontario communities maneuver through the World Wide Web, and harness new opportunities to drive economic and community development,” he added.
Other presentations
The NOHFC also announced Tuesday $11,990 to Jennifer L’Hirondelle of Barnswallow Ventures to open a yoga instruction and wedding photography service here. Under the NOHFC’s Young Entrepreneur Program, the money will be used to offset equipment and set-up costs.
“We believe very strongly that the future of Northern Ontario lies also in the hands of imaginative young entrepreneurs,” said Gravelle.
L’Hirondelle (nee Krag) is a Fort Frances native who went away to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver, B.C., then returned to Fort Frances with her husband, Troy, to begin a family here.
“Barnswallow Ventures was initially born out of the desire to set my own work schedule so that I could spend as much time as possible with my daughter, Lake. As I mused over what I might like to do, I was stuck oddly enough between the ideas of doing lifestyle photography and teaching yoga,” she noted.
“So I decided to do both, and aside from constant warnings to take it one at a time, I am almost at my one-year anniversary of being in business now, and I haven’t wanted to stop to look back.”
L’Hirondelle, who has a yoga studio in downtown Fort Frances, said the generosity and support of the NOHFC has been financially and morally encouraging.
Coun. Tibbs said that a time when youth outmigration is a concern here, L’Hirondelle’s is an “excellent story.”
Presentations commemorating the 20th anniversary of the NOHFC also were made here yesterday.
“For 20 years now, the NOHFC has been all about making a difference in cities, towns, and villages in Northern Ontario. The NOHFC has been about working with northerners to make a difference in their communities, so I think we all would agree that the NOHFC is truly one of the most effective tools the provincial government has at its disposal to promote northern community economic development,” said Gravelle.
“And you can understand why the NOHFC will be an integral part of the growth plan for Northern Ontario we’re developing with stakeholders throughout the north.
“The NOHFC will continue to work with northerners for northerners on initiatives, like [the technology centre] . . . that lay a foundation for economic growth and enhance quality of life for Northern Ontario,” he added.
Russ Fortier, chair of the Rainy River Future Development Corp., was on hand to receive plaques for three district businesses, including the Fisheries Resort, Ross’ Camp, and Emo Inn, which were first helped out by the NOHFC.
“The plaques are symbolic not only of the role the NOHFC has played in advancing these enterprises, but they also speak to very, very hard work that the proprietors have invested in their businesses, and they have good reason to be proud,” said Gravelle.
“I know these businesses. I was there when they received their money,” noted Fortier. “I have seen them grow and prosper, and they’re still very successful businesses in our district, and for that I thank the heritage corporation for the program that was in place back then.
“The only thing I would like to mention is it is my understanding that these were forgivable loans back in the day for businesses . . . I would ask you to consider maybe forgivable or part-forgivable loans for new businesses in the next little while,” added Fortier.
“I think it was a tremendous program that you had in place . . . and I think we could use that support again in the Rainy River District.”
(Fort Frances Times)