March 2014
Ring Of Fire Complexity- What We Need To Make It Happen!
Inside Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre saves money through energy efficiency PERSPECTIVES ON RESOURCE INDUSTRIES A 5 Star Golf Experience at the Reynolds Plantation, Georgia KEEP TIME ON YOUR SIDE Local Company Continues To Grow its Business: Freight Managers Inc. Making Houses Homes
Local Company Continues To Grow its Business: Freight Managers Inc.
Lakehead Nurse PractitionerLED Clinic Provide Valuable Service in Thunder Bay
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MARCH 2014
Habitat for Humanity Opens New and Improved ReStore Habitats for Humanity Thunder Bay volunteers have been working on a project
very close to home. The not-for-profit organization recently officially opened its
newly renovated Restore to the public, located on 660 Squier Street. For the last 7 months, volunteers have been constructing a 6000 square foot expansion, along with working on a new roof, office space and an entire interior makeover. With the new space, the ReStore will not
only be able to sell a larger quantity of retail, but will also become a donation hub for slightly used appliances, building accessories, and furniture for re-sale. Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay ReStore, Manager, Tyson Neil, says; “Thanks to the huge amount of support from the community we
have outgrown our previous building and we were in desperate need for more space. Over the last five years the ReStore has really boomed, doubling in sales, to become the ‘one-stop-shop’ in Thunder Bay for those looking to buy or recycle renovation materials. The ReStore renovations will support future growth and profitability for the operation. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore has been operating in the community of Thunder Bay since 1994, and is the organization’s single source of funding. It has become a popular retail outlet with brand recognition for its traditional product lines such as doors, windows, lighting, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, appliances, flooring, paint, plumbing and electrical accessories. Continues Tyson; “Expanding the ReStore location and capacity will contribute to a greater number of homes built each year in Thunder Bay. By shopping at the ReStore you are supporting families in need and directly helping the community, through recycling products and reducing waste to our local landfills, but most importantly all proceeds support Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay. The Restore’s primary purpose is to provide funding for building Habitat houses.” www.habitattbay.com Rob Voisin, National Director for Restore and Product Services “ We have 83 stores in Canada today and expect another 12 stores to open in the next year making our pace of adding 8 to 10 stores per year. The first store ever was in Winnipeg in 1991 and Thunder Bay opened in 1994. There are over 850 stores in the US as well as Australia. It is a Canadian invention that is now around the world!” “ Everything we sell is donated to us and we don’t buy and sell anything. It all comes from local or national business partners like the Home Depot for example, which annually donates about $10 million to Habitat. Our over all sales in Canada in 2013 were $41 million and the Thunder Bay store did about $400,000.” “ We expanded this store because the product being provided by the community outgrew the space. By more than doubling the store size we can accept more product and increase sales. The average size store in Canada is 10,500 feet and Thunder Bay is there now.” “ Our revenue from this store goes into our organization and contributes to building houses. It is a very unique business. The consumer gets a great deal as the price is 50 to 80% off and you also don’t pay any tax here, as we are a charitable organization. We provide a solution and deal with problem inventory for companies by giving them the opportunity to donate to us, receive a tax receipt, use our logo along side their brand and they don’t have to pay to put it in landfill.” Tyson Neil, General Manage of the Habitat Restore. “ This expansion has been a long time coming and an enormous amount of work to get to where we are now. We finished a lot of the interior work with volunteers.” “ We have more product and an expanded yard outside to store inventory. We are open to the public to come in and shop or volunteer if you wish to do so. We get a lot of support from the business community that donate to us. It is a great community here with different volunteers some of whom have been here for years. The end game for us is to see the house go up.”
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MARCH 2014
Publisher’s Note Scott Sumner Many Canadians turn their attention to a winter get away during the long winter months. This season in Thunder Bay has been especially harsh and it was a pleasure to go on a quick trip to the Reynolds Plantation located 1 hour a way from Atlanta in Greensboro, Georgia. My adventure began with two 2 hour Air Canada flights to Atlanta through Toronto and then the 1-hour drive to the luxurious Ritz Carlton Lodge. You can take all the driving away and be picked up at the new International Terminal at the busy Atlanta airport. This new terminal is much quicker to get in and out of and after clearing customs already in Toronto, makes for a quick ride up to Reynolds. The property is central in Georgia also within an hour of Augusta, Athens and Macon.
A 5 Star Golf Experience at the Reynolds Plantation, Georgia they are a great company. We are pleased to be owned by them. They have invested significant capital back into the property and we have a great future.” said Raymond Neil. The Ritz Carlton Lodge on site is an expensive property with great dark woodwork throughout! It features 251 rooms in the lodge that rent from in the $300’s and higher during the prime season. There are also 60 cottages available in 2, 3 or 4 bed-
class and a great opportunity to relax after you have played way too many rounds of golf. “ We are doing well here. The real estate numbers are strong and we have hit all our of our targets last year and are well on target this year to increase. Properties are moving in all price ranges.” said Neil The properties range in size from 1/2 to 1 acre. There are also estate lots of 6 acres
The beautiful Ritz Carlton is a real treat to stay at and includes many great dining opportunities as well as adjacent worldclass spa! It is a great compliment to the 6 excellent golf courses right on property. The Reynolds Plantation has had a long history with their first golf course opening in 1988- the Plantation course. They have added a course every 5 years since then. A local Reynolds family started the development and ownership has transitioned over to the well known MET Life company in August 2012. Currently they have developed 2500 homes on 3700 lots on about 6000 acres but have 11,000 acres in total so have completed about 60%. Raymond Neil is the President of Reynolds Plantation and was previously with Georgia Power as an engineer the company that built Lake Oconee. Lake Oconee forms a signifcant part of the Reynolds Plantation development. He bought his property in his late 20’s and has lived on site for 25 years now. Neil started working at Reynolds in 2002 and has been President since 2006. “ Met Life adds great stability to us and
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room configurations. Right now there are 51 new homes under construction at an average size of 4500 square feet. Some have started recently in the 8000 square feet range. “ Many of our residents here have second homes and come from Atlanta as well as the Midwest and Northeast US markets well as traffic from Florida. 50% of our market is from Atlanta and 48% the rest of the US with about 2% from the rest of the world including Canada.” said Neil. “ We have 6 golf courses here designed by different architects including Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Fazio and Bob Cupp. Each has it’s own feel. You could stay a week here and enjoy the courses and the weather. The weather is usually excellent here and we have members who play 280 or 290 rounds a year.” The Spa at Reynolds Plantation is world
on the water. Lot prices range for $75,000 to over $1 million each. Construction cost to build your home at the Reynolds Plantation is very reasonable from $100 to $150 per square foot based on the finishes but can be much higher for elaborate homes. “ We are continuing to move forward and have just completed golf course renovations on most of our courses and every room at the Ritz Carlton. We are about to start construction on a new National club house and developing new lots for growth,” said Neil. “ The US economy is very strong and we are seeing people move here after selling their homes elsewhere. This past year average pricing went up. We sell a lifestyle and value. You can have unlimited play on 6 courses for less than $700 per month, so it's good value.”
Reynolds Plantation is the Kingdom Taylor Made Fitting and Training facility. It is the main east coast center for Taylor Made and second only to their Carlsbad headquarters. You can be fitted for every club in the bag from driver to putter. It takes about 3 1/2 hours to complete and costs $350.00. “ We use the Trackman and our Motion Analysis System (MAS). You put the suit on and get looked at for full swing as well as in our putter lab. We also have a PGA tour trailer here that lets us build every club for you right away. You can get the fitting, hit the correct clubs for you and take them home with you today,” said Alan Stone, Fitter at the Kingdom at Reynolds Plantation at Greensboro, Georgia. “ Today with you we were looking at launch angle, spin rates to maximize distance and control for the driver. By looking at your swing style we can get the correct loft for your attack angles to get the right launch angles so you can hit it further. Your shot dispersion was also little bit tighter.” “ The trend today is for more loft with the driver. You don’t spin the ball as much with the driver so you need more loft to get the ball airborne and create more distance. You can really find out a lot about your golf game here. It even helps you know your tendencies to help you play towards or guard against on the golf course.” It was fun to play golf the first day at Oconee and the second day at Great Waters. Both of these golf courses were excellent. Great Waters, designed by Jack Nicklaus, features every hole on the back nine adjacent to Lake Oconee and was one of the most picturesque setting I have ever been at on the golf course. The golf course definitely matches the overall excellence of the Reynolds Plantation property and should be experienced by the avid golfer. It really is a great get away! For further information visit www.reynoldsplantation.com
A great option for the golfer at the
Making Houses Homes President Miranda Bolt Graphic Designer
Sonia Rutter @ 807- 631-4244
The 12th Annual First Nations Northern Housing Conference was held February 11 to 13 at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay. Over 80 communities were represented with delegates whom had the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of relevant workshops and seminars on topics such as wood heating & fire safety and indoor air quality.
so many houses and the need is much greater.” “ Our conference theme is making houses
The First Nations Northern Housing Conference is one of the initiatives of the working group of 10 tribal councils from the North of Superior area east to the Manitoba border and south the US border as well as north to the James and Hudson’s Bay. “ We are always pushing for better housing, better building practices and sustainability in housing and healthier housing. If you have a safe and healthy home to go to it improves your health all around,” said Chuck Hebert, Technologist from Shibogama First Nations Council. “ I’ve been working in Northern housing for 18 years and have seen a vast improvement. In every community I work in there is a huge backlog. It is only possible to build
Lisa McCormick Tenant Liaison for Batchewana First Nation homes. The biggest issue for housing in the remote communities is access. You are limited to a short time frame window to get in the supplies to build the homes. The huge backlog of housing also means a shortage of skilled people to build these houses. It means you may not be able to build
enough homes.” One of the award winners at this event was the Batchewana First Nation, which won the 2014 Innovation Housing Award. “ We got the innovation award for our new tenant orientation process which is very unique in First Nations. We let the tenant participate in the selection process in their home, which will give them more pride in their home. It is to make our community more effective,” said Lisa McCormick Tenant Liaison for Batchewana First Nation. “ We have a long waiting list and overcrowding issues. The input from residents is helping the tenant and we have a workshop with the tenants after they move in. One issue we are having right now is mould in our older homes.” Currently the Batchewana First Nation has 230 houses they manage and there are 100 private homes including rentals, CMHC, turnkey and bank financed homes.
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KEEP TIME ON YOUR SIDE ©2014 Brian Babcock
the essence. What is the difference?
a claim for damages.
If time of performance of a contract is important to you, best to get it in writing. You might be familiar with the phrase “time is of the essence”. It is used loosely in everyday chatter, and appears in every standard real estate agreement. “Of the
If time is “of the essence” and payment is due at 4:30, you may be able refuse a payment offered at 4:32, and sue for breach of contract (though the court might decide you acted unfairly, and find against youso you should speak to a lawyer before acting).
Further wrinkles can arise when the time for performance is extended. First, it is important that the time limit be extended. In a recent British Columbia case, a purchaser walked away from a deal where the seller, needing more time to get subdivision approval, did not properly get an extension of time, which was “of the essence.” They were both sophisticated developers, but the seller missed the important point. Time, as it turned out, was NOT on THEIR side.
Legal Matters essence” means “essential”. It is included in contracts because if it is NOT stated as a term, then time is NOT of
If time is not of the essence, then you are required to accept that late payment and perform your side of the deal. The delivery of goods, for example, is not necessarily “time of the essence” because of the risks of shipping. However, if the goods are very special, needed at a precise time, then time can be made “of the essence” and a late delivery can be refused, or can lead to
Secondly, when time IS properly extended, whether time remains of the essence depends on the circumstances - there is no one size fits all rule, so you should make it
clear in the agreement that extends the time. Contracts can be created verbally; by a combination of words spoken and written; kitchen-table agreements (informal writing); by formal documents prepared by you, or an agent; or by a lawyer. Not every contract needs a lawyer to prepare it. But if time, or other terms, is essential to you, drafting and interpreting contracts is the essence of what many lawyers do. We at Weilers like to think that we have been essential to helping clients succeed for over 67 years.
Local Company Continues To Grow its Business: Freight Managers Inc. BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS Wayne VanderWees is the co founder and President of Freight Managers Inc., a business that was started 22 years ago with his partner Patrick Fenlon. The two went to university together and even ended up being related as Patrick married Wayne’s sister!
VanderWees Poultry and Thunder Bay Feeds as well as a wholesale pet food company. On a cold February he was outside trying to fix a piece of equipment with out
“ In the beginning I was general manager of one of the family companies and did quite a bit of work in the transportation area. I noticed if I spent time working on transportation then I could get very good rates, but I didn’t always have a lot of time. It made me wonder if there was a company that could help with this and that was the seed for our business.”smiles Wayne VanderWees. Patrick and I decided to try the business starting out on a shoestring out of the basement of his families house on Summit Ave.” Wayne previously worked at
Wayne VanderWees is the co founder and President of Freight Managers Inc
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gloves, and at that point at age 14 years old decided he didn’t want to be a farmer anymore. So Wayne went to university, got an Honours Bachelor of Commerce at Lakehead University and also his Certified Management Accountant designation. “ The main idea behind the company is we bring strategic logistics to small enterprises. Large companies have big logistics departments because it is not just a cost centre but can provide profits for the business. Small business treat freight as a cost to them,” said VanderWees. “ We work with our clients to get their products or supplies to them or their customers when needed. It can be a very complex transportation using barges or winter roads. To us Thunder Bay isn’t remote but to the logistics community as a whole, Thunder Bay is considered very remote. We started working with Thunder Bay based businesses but 10 years ago my partner and I looked at the region and became a little worried about being so dependent on forestry. What would happen if the forestry fell apart? We did an effort then to expand across Canada and the US -North America.” Today Freight Managers Inc. has about 1000 trucking companies in their database, about 100 all over North America which are their top ones. According to VanderWees the key is to know who to call and when. “ For example to get something from Thunder Bay to Los Angelos most people think the best way is to get the freight from Thunder Bay to Minneapolis and then Los Angelos. Actually it is better to ship to Toronto and then Los Angelos. The difference in two skids, say a few thousand pounds, is about $300 or $400 hundred dollars. The idea is we have the knowledge to do this. We can concentrate on what we
do best. If a client has a load they need to move we can work in our database to get them the best rate and delivery time.” There are four components to any shipment according to Vanderwees- 1. The cost, which most people look at as the most important. 2. The complexity of the shipments say with more than one mode of transportation. 3. The time involved to make the shipment as a priority and 4. The consequences of something happening to that shipment i.e. damages or being late. If you have a product that has a lead time of 6 months to make and you put it on a carrier and it gets damaged it may take another 6 months to get it again. “ Just in time inventory is more important in Southern Ontario than in Thunder Bay. Companies up here realize there is this thing called snow and these trucks or trains may be affected. It is cheaper to store inventory up here and with the cost of interest rates it means they can hold more inventory.” said VanderWees. There are 6 employees at Freight Managers Inc. The company will track each of your shipments everyday and keep you, the client informed as to where the shipment is at along the way. They make a small margin on volume and get a portion of the savings they provide their customers. “ The economy of Thunder Bay and NW Ontario is definitely getting better. I really like it. Interesting thing about Northern Ontario is we live in such an amazing place and have such amazing people here. We have a great work force but are almost afraid to tell people. Slowly there are entrepreneurs coming up here and saying yes we are good enough to compete in the world. There are companies coming to Thunder Bay now and part of the thing is logistics. We are centrally located and have all freight options here expect for rail containers.” said Wayne who is currently age 47 and started in the business at age 25. “ In the future we are going to expand by taking our business to the next level, giving our clients some help and staying one step ahead of the technology. We offer human service that people still enjoy. I love the business, the whole transportation industry. One of my dreams as a youth was to own my own ship!”
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Ring Of Fire Complexity- What We Need To Make It Happen! They do use aircraft to move their people there as well as by road link. The infrastructure is a little better developed there.
John Mason is the Project Manager of Mining Services CEDC in Thunder Bay. He is a proud graduate in geology from Lakehead University and has worked for 36 years in Thunder Bay for the province in the region with prospectors and explorations on many properties. He has seen lots of different cycles in metal price changes. The ultimate game is to create new mines.
Why do you think Cliffs has suspended operations? Cliffs were concerned there wasn’t support for infrastructure into the site with road access from South to North. Nor Ont wants an east to west road from near the Pickle Lake Hwy for their nickel copper deposit called Eagle Nest. They are going ahead with their project and excited about the development corporation recently announced by the province.
What is the Ring of Fire John? The Ring of Fire is a relatively new discovery, what we call a mining camp or new mining district that has been discovered in the last 6 or 7 years. It consists of nickel, copper and chromate- a new metal to Ontario that is used for stainless steel. It is a brand new emerging area and is remote, about 550 km’s northeast from Thunder Bay, on the edge of James Bay Lowlands. The Ring of Fire is inaccessible by rail or road but accessible by air on ice strips or helicopter in the summer. The main players have been Cliffs Natural Resources, which have suspended
operations, Nor Ont Resources and KWG with some others like MacDonald Mines that have a series of base metal discoveries. The Ring of Fire was first heard of in 2005/2006.
Mine, Ontario’s only diamond mine owned by De Beers, a major company. De Beers have access in through Attawapiskat as well as a power source.
The price of Chromate is not as strong as it was once, which is an issue. The chromate is a demand mineral used on stainless steel. The big players who need the product are in Asia for appliances or vehicles.
So this is a very remote area? The remoteness is 54 degrees latitude between the Musselwhite and Victor
One of the main issues is access. Once the infrastructure is there more mineral exploration will happen. KWG is now drilling the Black Horse to what is called indicated and measured category. The grade and thickness of these projects is exciting. It will also elevate the quality of life for the First Nations communities with electrification on access. We can use it as a catalyst to provide economic development and quality of life. There are also difficulties in the First Nation consultation process getting together and working through issues. You need an agreements struck so there is value and benefit for everybody. There is a willingness to have that happen.The communities want to be a labour resource. Greenstone and Thunder Bay want to be a supply chain with materials required in mine construction and operation.
Continued
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Ring Of Fire Complexity- What We Need To Make It Happen! Continued The Ring of Fire Project seems to be slowing down now? The development had been slowing down and a lot has to do with the financing market. The last three and half years have not been good to the junior market. In the case of Cliffs they need to focus on their main revenue source
and then come back to it. They have significant debt level and just announced their Waboose Mine is being closed. Cliffs has some current income from production while Nor Ont does not and KWG does not. They raise money by selling shares. KWG have already presold some of their advance smelter production for cash to allow them to develop and explore. These are challenging times right now no question
about that. How long should it take a mine to be in production from the initial time of discovery? The quickest mine in Ontario was the Hemlo Mine near Marathon that was three years from discovery to production. It can be 8 to 15 years sometimes based on location, price of minerals as well as environment assessment. Cliffs were also frustrated the EA process schedule they had proposed wasn’t approved. It’s a complex process to get a mine up and running. It is all money going out until there is production. The feasibility study determines whether the mine will open. Many of the mines in NW Ontario have their feasibility studies done. Once the EA studies are complete they can proceed. Do you think we need a catalyst from government to get the project moving, say a transportation link? If the province and federal governments said the would build a road or rail link it would be a catalyst. Even if it was a partnership with 1/3 funding each coming from the province, federal and companies. The province also could finance it and a toll fee added that the companies would pay for over 30 to 100 years. There needs to be a formula worked out so everyone can win. The province could get the money back from taxes, royalties, personal taxes and the salaries, which would flow back to
all levels of government and could exceed the investment over time. There are case examples of this with Quebec and BC where it is taking place- examples of these types of investment paying off. Why can't it happen at the Ring of Fire? Once the infrastructure is there more mineral exploration will happen. KWG is now drilling the Black Horse to what is called indicted and measured category. The grade and thickness of these projects are exciting.
Another important area seems to be First Nations consultation?
The relationship building with the First Nations is important to have roads and electricity as well as fiber optics. The First Nations people would work at the Ring of Fire. It would cascade into more opportunities. There is a lot of work to get on the same page. It will also elevate the quality of life for the First Nations communities with electrification and access. We can we use the Ring of Fire as a catalyst to provide economic development and quality of life.
Would there be an economic benefit in Thunder Bay and Greenstone?
The economic benefit is service and supply companies. We already have up to 130 companies that service and supply the mining and exploration sectors. The crews would be housed in camps but I think the bulk of the work force would be flown in through the Thunder Bay Airport such as they do at the Musselwhite mine- 2 weeks in and 2 week out and the personal would live in Thunder Bay or Greenstone. It could be 1000 or more people. You would grow the service and supply business as well. The training and educational piece would be important as well say with the college and university and other aboriginal training companies based in Thunder Bay.
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Look for more mining articles in upcoming issues of Thunder Bay Business. We want to hear about your properties, products and services that will make our mining economy boom! Email Scott Sumnerat nspinc@tbaytel.net
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Zenyatta’s Unique Hydrothermal Graphite Discovery Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: ZEN), is a junior exploration company focused on developing a very rare hydrothermal Albany Graphite Deposit in Northern Ontario. Discovered in 2011, it is the largest and only known graphite deposit of this kind under development in the world. Zenyatta has achieved what many companies can only dream of when it accidently discovered a unique mineral deposit lying in its backyard.
In early 2012, a mineralogical report prepared by Dr. Andrew Conly, Ph.D. of Lakehead University Mineralogy and Experimental Laboratory characterized the
Graphite has attracted many investors’ attention lately because it is a critical substance used in several key technological sectors from electronics and batteries to aerospace and industrial metallurgy. The global outlook for the graphite is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new cleantech applications. The unique Albany Graphite Deposit is surrounded by excellent infrastructure. It is 30 km north of the Trans-Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and the Town of Hearst. A rail line is located 70 km away with an all-weather road approximately 4-5 km from the graphite deposit.
metallurgical testing. Ongoing mineralogical work performed by SGS Canada Inc., has demonstrated Zenyatta’s graphite material to be of high-quality, containing very few impurities. SGS has demonstrated that a high purity graphitic carbon can be achieved from a relatively inexpensive caustic bake process compared to the costs of producing high-purity synthetic graphite. SGS is working closely with Zenyatta by providing an optimized flow sheet and two 5 tonne mini-bulk samples. Dr. Conly recently received support from Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to study the geological model of the Albany graphite deposit. Dr. Conly noted that, "Evidence has shown that Zenyatta has discovered a unique sub-class of a hydrothermal graphite deposit unlike any other. Igneous breccia-hosted graphite deposits like Albany are very rare, and to the best of my knowledge, none are currently being mined or even in an advanced stage of exploration globally."
deposit as a ’One of Kind’. Zenyatta has received support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program for
Early December 2013, Zenyatta received a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Resource Estimate from RPA, an independent consulting firm. Initial results show the
Albany Project to be very robust with Indicated Mineral Resources of 25.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.89% graphitic carbon, containing 977,000 tonnes of Cg. In addition, Inferred Mineral Resources are estimated to total 20.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.20% Cg, containing 441,000 tonnes of Cg. Zenyatta recently appointed Dr. Bharat Chahar, a chemical engineer with extensive carbon research and development experience, to the position of VP Market Development with responsibility for advancing marketing opportunities for the unique high purity graphite products. Zenyatta has also brought on Tadashi Yamashita onto the team. Mr. Yamashita will be a Consultant for Market Development, specifically for the markets in Asia. Zenyatta plans to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on the Albany deposit in the second quarter of 2014. The data used in the study includes among other items: mining, metallurgy and processing, infrastructure, environment, manpower, marketing, life of mine plan and execution plan.
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ONTARIO’S RING OF FIRE COULD GENERATE TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY THUNDER BAY - A new report from the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce reveals that Ontario’s Ring of Fire, the mineral resource-rich region in the James Bay Lowlands, will generate up to $9.4
time to broaden the Ring of Fire conversation to include all of Ontario, not just the Far North.” “We must work to ensure that the resources in the Ring of Fire are fully uti-
“There is a strong business case for governments to invest in this economic opportunity,” says O’Dette. “The federal government, in particular, needs to play a more active role in this development, as it has for other transformative projects including the oil sands, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and Churchill Falls.” The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is hosting a luncheon and panel discussion on the report findings on Wednesday, February 26. Full details and registration are available at www.tbchamber.ca/rof/
billion in new economic activity over the first 10 years of operation and sustain 5,500 jobs annually. According to the study, Beneath the Surface: Uncovering the Economic Potential of Ontario’s Ring of Fire, the mining development could generate more than $25 billion across numerous sectors in Ontario by 2047, including $2.7 billion in revenues for the financial services sector and $1.2 billion for the wholesale and retail trade sectors. “Our study makes it clear that the shortand long-term economic impacts of the Ring of Fire extend far beyond mining,” says Allan O’Dette, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “It’s
lized to create jobs and economic growth in Thunder Bay and across the Northwest,” says Charla Robinson, President of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce. “With appropriate planning and investment, this development can drive the Ontario economy for decades to come.” The study shows that the Ring of Fire will generate significant revenue for governments, to the tune of $1.95 billion within the first 10 years of its development. The authors call on the provincial and federal governments to design and fund a plan to address inadequate transportation infrastructure in the Ring of Fire, which is cited as a significant barrier to the development.
Additional highlights from study include: Within the first 10 years of its development, the Ring of Fire will: § generate up to $9.4 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) § generate up to $6.2 billion for Ontario’s
mining industry § sustain up to 5,500 jobs annually (full time equivalents) § generate nearly $2 billion in government revenue, divided between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Within the first 32 years of its development, the Ring of Fire will generate more than $25 billion in economic activity across numerous sectors in Ontario, of which mining is just one: § $2.7 billion in revenues for the financial services sector § $1.2 billion for the wholesale and retail trade sectors § $600 million for the manufacturing sector § $500 million for the utilities sector
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Women Will Play A Large Role In Mining in Northern Ontario BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS The very successful and unique Paro Centre for Women’s Enterprise in Thunder Bay has started taking on a new role in the very dynamic mining industry in Northern Ontario. “ Right now we are hiring someone to talk to women already involved with mining, companies that are involved
One way according to Lockyer is to educate, build skills and be more productive. The other is to connect women to the right people so they can get the contract. “ Some people think your company will work directly with the mining company but there are may be a large business that is partnered with several smaller businesses to fulfill the contract to the mining company. One business will be the lead and they need a lot of help with
Another area is health and safety work that needs to be done to keep the polices and procedures in pace. Health care is needed such as nurses, massage therapy or reflexology. These services can be contracted out. Clerical support workers may not be in house. They could be virtual. It could be cleaning and catering. The large mining company may prefer to contract that out. It is an advantage to contracting out as a big staff can create challenges and issues. It may be easiest to work with another business.” said Lockyer. Another important issue today in large business especially is to encourage supplier diversity to be socially responsible. PARO is working and partnered with We Connect Canada so women can be accessed and certified so they can be part of this supplier diversity. Companies want to be socially responsible and hire women or First Nations businesses. It has been proven more cost effective to have diversity so there is both a social and economic issue. The companies
with mining and people who would like to be involved in mining. Our goal is to help women become better suppliers to the mining industry,” said Rosalind Lockyer Executive Director Paro Centre for Women’s Enterprise. “ It is one thing to get the contract and another to fulfill it so we are also doing a parallel project called Women in Business where we are helping women acquire the skills and bring their businesses to a certain level to have the skills and products built in a way to deliver on a larger contract. There is certain knowledge you need and it takes time to refine your business to be prepared.”
want to show themselves as socially responsible. “ We want to build capacity in companies so they can grow, hire people and partner with other businesses. We are gong to work with Women in Mining organization, the Thunder Bay CEDC and chambers to help women wherever they live in Northern Ontario to take advantage of the opportunities mining can provide.” said Lockyer PARO was started in January 1995 so are almost at their 20 year mark in history. They were unique when started and are still unique as there are no other PARO’s in Canada. PARO is a Northern Ontario hybrid organization founded by women in Thunder Bay with Rosalind Lockyer the founding Executive Director. It was built with just a few women getting together who stated “ We want to start our businesses and this is what we need.”
partnered companies. It could be tiered and there are lots of opportunities.” PARO is interested in the entire mining industry in Northern Ontario. “ We talk about Northern Ontario in total as there are many mining projects underway even beside the Ring of Fire. We want businesses to get on the bid list, find out what mining companies need and get them known. For example Red Lake is booming and they can have trouble getting the types of services they need. All mining companies will need HR services and I know some companies don’t want to hire staff but a business to provide the service instead of in house.
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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MARCH 2014
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MARCH 2014
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PERSPECTIVES ON RESOURCE INDUSTRIES In the past 2 centuries people were used to moving to the sites of mines and forest product operations. In the past 2 decades a new "commuter" era has taken hold.
leave. For certain no resource business will develop infrastructure to municipal standards as was done for thousands of operations in the past.
communities with heavy loads on a very frequent basis. Some companies contribute but most civic administrators would tell you that it is woefully inadequate.
Using Musselwhite as one example we know that those working on-site benefit from having their family in a stable community with the range of amenities that can be offered.
We also know now that many people do not like to move away from their families. This is not a new phenomenon but it makes training for positions that require long stays away in areas of considerable distant much more complicated.
Ten and ten is one common mantra that commuters have embraced along with the corporations that employ them. The cost/benefits are obvious now as the capital costs of construction and the ongoing maintenance become huge parts of municipal budgets.
This one change, among the many affecting resource extraction will actually prove beneficial to those concerned about the footprint that tree and mineral industries
Of course municipalities are only one type of community as Unincorporated communities as well as First Nations face those impacts as well as the new costs of exploration. Many are not aware of the immense costs of maintaining roads and other systems of just giant trucks driving through
There was also a time when environmental impacts were never considered whatsoever. Can you contemplate the construction of a transnational railroad or the TransCanada highway now. It would never happen with today's safeguards. So now you have some idea of those objecting to gargantuan pipelines extending across half a continent. As things change so do they often improve. Think about how efficient and protective forest practices have become. The increases in usage are very reassuring as are the new harvesting techniques. Just
image if we could design a system that more fully utilized the areas under hydro lines or the areas paralleling highways. Costs of production would go down dramatically and ecological impacts minimized. I am optimistic that as society evolves and our standards increase that we will find that sustainability will ensure the renewability for future generations. Always leave your campsite in better shape that you found it - if we apply this to corporations we will ensure that our legacy for our children is a good one. Respectfully submitted, Ken Boshcoff Director of Business Strategies Crupi Consulting Group
A New Era for Women's Counselling Services in Thunder Bay February 26, 2014, Thunder Bay, ON After providing services to local families for 48 years, Thunder Bay Counselling Centre is giving its female clients a brand of their own. Thunder Bay Counselling
Nancy Chamberlain, Executive Director says; “Thunder Bay Counselling Centre has become a trusted hub for specialized women’s services. Thunder Bay Counselling Centre for Women will
Centre for Women was launched today; a new branch that is focused on enhancing outreach, services and supports to women in Thunder Bay.
specifically help women with multiple needs or who are working to overcome several life challenges at the same time. This is a fresh approach and a new era for
women's counselling services in the city.” Thunder Bay Counselling Centre for Women will help to reduce the barriers to service for women. It will support women to grow stronger together as they face multiple issues such as trauma, abuse, substance use, and parenting children who have witnessed violence. Currently, Thunder Bay Counselling Centre supports hundreds of women in the community and has been successful in helping change their lives. Two women who have received support from the Centre shared their life-changing stories of personal growth, healing and change at today's event. Shania Young explains that with Thunder Bay Counselling Centre’s support and services she has successfully experienced five years of sobriety. “I look forward to coming to the Centre every week and I know the door is always open;” says Young. “I can talk to the staff about absolutely anything and they always have information to give me. I would recommend these services to every woman and mother who has struggled with addiction.” Thunder Bay Counselling Centre for Women services will be provided through one convenient location at the Centre's Hope Place. Continues Nancy Chamberlain; “Hope Place is a safe,
welcoming and child-friendly environment that will support women as they grow, heal and become stronger together." Thunder Bay Counselling Centre for Women is primarily supported by the North West Local Health Integration Network, Ministry of Community and Social Services and the United Way of Thunder Bay.
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Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre saves money through Energy Efficiency Thunder Bay, ON- Saving on energy can pay big dividends and Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is a perfect example. Today, TBRHSC received the largest rebate in the history of Thunder Bay Hydro, and one of the most prevalent in Ontario, in the amount of $597,554.62. "Thunder Bay Hydro is working to develop sustainable and collaborative relationships to help local organizations save on energy," says President of Thunder Bay Hydro, Robert Mace. “We are thrilled to have secured Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre to participate in the saveONenergy RETROFIT PROGRAM. I am not aware of any other local organization that has achieved a comparable level of energy efficiency." The saveONenergy RETROFIT PROGRAM delivered by Thunder Bay Hydro provides incentives for commercial operations to install newer, more energy efficient solutions. Working with Johnson Controls, TBRHSC completed the RETROFIT project in July 2013. The energy efficient upgrades involved a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems retrofit. “This project has significantly improved electricity performance and is expected to save a total of 5,288,093 kWh annually,
which represents 22% of TBRHSC’s annual energy consumption. This is enough energy to power as many as 550 homes in Thunder Bay,” continues Mace. “At
Thunder Bay Hydro through the saveONenergy RETROFIT PROGRAM will be reinvested into operations and improving patient care services at
Rob Mace and Tim Wilson of Thunder Bay Hydro at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre equipment area Thunder Bay Hydro, we encourage all resi- TBRHSC. dents and businesses to follow the lead of “This generous incentive from Thunder Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Bay Hydro enhances TBRHSC’s commitCentre. Let us help you to save more ment to patients, families and our commuthrough the saveONenergy programs.” nity. It enables a comprehensive infrastrucEnergy consumption in hospitals across ture retrofit program that reduces costs and Ontario continues to rise steadily, as speemissions that also allows us to focus more cialist equipment greatly relies on electrici- resources on direct patient care,” says Dr. ty to operate. The incentive delivered by Mark Henderson, Executive VP, Patient
Sonia Rutter @ 807- 631-4244
Services & Regional VP Cancer Care Ontario. “Funding from the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has also allowed TBRHSC to reduce utility costs as well as leverage rebates from utility providers such as Thunder Bay Hydro,” adds Henderson. Improvements to ventilation and control systems will also result in an improved environment for staff and patients. “Patients and families at TBRHSC will experience increased levels of comfort thanks to a consistent temperature throughout the facility,” says Keith Taylor, a Patient Family Advisor at TBRHSC. Since 2007, Thunder Bay Hydro Conservation has completed over 250 Retrofits in the community, saving 8,600,00 kWh of electricity. This equates to enough electricity to power 896 homes. The RETROFIT PROGRAM has also paid out over $1.3 million in incentives to local businesses. www.tbhydro.saveonenergy.ca Healthy Together Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), a 375-bed acute care facility, is a national leader in Patient and Family Centred Care. As the tertiary care provider in Northwestern Ontario, TBRHSC provides comprehensive services to a population of over 250,000 residents in a region the size of France. Effectively addressing the healthcare needs of patients and families has earned TBRHSC both Innovation Awards and Leading Practice Designations. As an academic health sciences centre, TBRHSC is committed to teaching the next generation of healthcare providers and advancing medical research. Patients benefit from interprofessional teams of dedicated healthcare providers and access to leadingedge medical equipment and clinical trials. saveONenergy The suite of saveONenergy conservation programs are designed to assist homes and business across the province manage their electricity use and to achieve provincewide electricity savings.The saveONenergy programs are offered through local electric utilities and funded by the Ontario Power Authority. More information about Ontario’s saveONenergy suite of energy conservation programs can be found at www.saveonenergy.ca Robert Mace, President of Thunder Bay Hydro “ We are here to award an incentive of just under $600,000 to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre for their energy savings work. They undertook an enormous project with their systems. This is our largest project in Thunder Bay and in the top 5 largest awarded in the province.” “ These projects are part of the energy savings projects going on in Ontario. They are funded by the Ontario Power Authority and delivered by organizations like Thunder bay Hydro. I believe the total capital investment at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre was over $1.2 million for this work. Their payback is about 2 1/2 years and they will basically save 20% of their total electricity cost historically used.” “ We can offer this same subsidy to all sizes of customers. I would encourage customers to contact Thunder Bay Hydro and our energy conversion team and go from there.”
THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MARCH 2014
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Lakehead Nurse Practitioner-LED Clinic Provide Valuable Service in Thunder Bay BY SCOTT A. SUMNER
Thunder Bay BUSINESS The number of people in Thunder Bay that don’t have access to a family doctor has been well known in recent years. A recent iniative by the Ontario government has helped this shortage with the opening of nurse practitioner clinics.
Ontario. The original push in Thunder Bay came from a group of local Nurse Practitioners who promoted the idea of this clinic for Thunder Bay. Sudbury had the first Nurse Practitioner clinic in Ontario and based on that the government decided to fund more in the province. Thunder Bay is one of the original Nurse Practitioner clinics in Ontario.
Pam Delgaty is the Clinical Director and
Kyle Jessiman is Clinic Administrator and Pam Delgaty is the Clinical Director and Lead Nurse Practitioner at Lakehead Nurse Practitioner LED Clinic.
Lead Nurse Practitioner at Lakehead Nurse Practitioner LED Clinic. Kyle Jessiman is Clinic Administrator. It was fun to visit their very professional 5000 square floor office located on the main floor of the former McKellar Hospital on Archibald Street in the Southward of Thunder Bay. Their office includes 7 exam rooms plus areas for the registered dietician and social worker on staff. The staff also includes 4 Nurse Practitioners, a pharmacist part time plus 3 support staff. The Nurse Practitioner-LED Clinic opened in the fall of 2010, some 3 years ago. The Ontario government has since supported 26-nurse practitioner clinics in
“ The goal is to identify problems and prevent them so people have a healthier life. That is what we do. A lot of what we do is patient education and prevention. Lifestyle change is important and we have a dietician and social worker on staff to help in this area. Healthcare in Ontario is really moving towards health teams and people will come to expect this type of service.” said Pam Delgaty. Nurse Practitioners are Registered Nurses whom have a certain degree of experience and have gone back to school initially for 1 year in a certificate program. Now it is moving to a Masters program where some advance skills are being learned. Nurse Practitioner’s can now pre-
scribe medications, communicate diagnosis and order diagnostic tests such as X ray’s or labs. The only medications they can’t order currently are narcotics but that may change shortly as well. Narcotics provide more risk for abuse. You need a 4-year university degree as a registered nurse and then two years of experience ideally in a primary health care role. Then you go back for a series of courses, which are now a Masters over a two-year program. You are looking at 8 years training in total. “We have 3200 patients here at the clinics, 800 for each Nurse Practitioner. 800 is a good balance because we don’t want our patents waiting too long. We were full after 1 1/2 years of operation as it takes time to bring patients on. We focused on anyone who didn’t have a health care provider and they were eligible to come here. We have always have had a waiting list of patients. The only other options for people are walk in clinics or emergency at the hospital. Many people don’t do any health care if they can’t get in.” said Kyle Jessiman. “ The Lakehead Nurse Practitioner-LED Clinic has a physician we work with, DR. Rick Almond who has been tremendously supportive of Nurse Practitioners. If certain things are out of our scope we discuss with him and can then refer to specialists. We provide care across the life span from infants to families and seniors. Chronic disease management is one of our focuses. People need ongoing routine care and it is better if they can get that at a setting like this,” said Pam Delgaty. “ If you have diabetes we have a partnership with Diabetes Thunder Bay who come in once per month and work closely with us. The social worker can help here as well and the team
approach is important.” “ The clinic had worked well. We run a patient satisfaction survey ongoing and get 98 % positive on many components covered such as wait times and quality of care. We do have a wait list currently but you can fill out an application on line at
www.ledpc.com or here at the office. We have some patients leave or pass away and can then take on more patients,”said Kyle Jessiman. “ We have the clinical rooms for two more Nurse Practitioners and hopefully the government will fund us for that shortly. There is the need in Thunder Bay and many people are still looking for primary health care with the number we hear anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000. There are also some family health physicians that are taking on new patients and another Nurse Practitioner clinic in Thunder Bay. We feel every person on Thunder Bay should have access to primary care.”
“ Working with business for a sustainable and prosperous future”
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