Business May 2016 by Scott Sumner

Prince Arthur’s Landing Wins a prestigious, province wide design award… Design Excellence

INSIDE Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Makes A Thunder Bay Stop To Talk About Transit “In God We Trust…” Vector Construction Ltd. Celebrate 30 Years In Thunder Bay North Superior Publishing @tbay25

Ontario Supports Expansion of Port of Thunder Bay

Work Authority Opens Store In Thunder Bay

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

SHOP LOCAL . . .REALLY! Yes…Really! Isn’t time to discover or even rediscover what great places there are to shop right here in Thunder Bay! With all the hype on cross-border shopping and on-line shopping, it is easy to get accustomed and excited about seeking out deals, deals, deals, when the world is at your finger tips. But wait!

Next Issue Deadline

Thunder Bay Business Economic Report on Thunder Bay May24th, 2016 Contact Sonia @ 631 -4244 or Sylvia @ 629-7599 www.northsuperiorpublishing.com

Before you even click the mouse…check out what you can actually buy here in Thunder Bay! Shop on line! Local vendors want you to access their web sites but, at the end of your search words in your tool bar type in… ‘/in Thunder Bay’! For everything we purchase for our families, ourselves, our homes, our friends, should we not at least see what our local vendors have to offer? In a lot of cases, most anything we purchase across borders has a price close to what we would pay here at home…so why not keep the dollars at home? Everyone knows the importance of strengthening their own economy and it is no secret that a stronger economy secures more jobs and spin off and so on and so on. Those are two benefits of shopping local! Another benefit is the good feeling you get when you know you have exercised loyalty and supported your local vendor in your community! Vendors want to do well for their consumers. They want to

develop a relationship with families for generations! And there is something to be said about that kind of recognition for both consumer and vendor/local shop owners! Now, no one can shop local all the time, but wouldn’t it be nice if whenever we shop we make ‘did I try to shop local today’ our first option. The barter system is still in style, maybe not everywhere you shop, but if a consumer asks for a bit of a discount, most times the local vendor will check out the possibility to satisfy the request and when both parties are satisfied…a new relationship has just begun. Why do we want our locals to shop local? Because when shopping begins at home, everyone benefits! We want to encourage local support for our local businesses and build commerce in our city. Sometimes, as we meandour our way through our shopping sectors and

we see another business has closed its doors, or we hear about a local vendor going out of business, we acknowledge some sense of disappointment, because it marks change and we know that business will more than likely never return. So… so?? What can w do to ensure our local businesses stay in business? We can try to shop at home first. We can ask our local vendor to send out for items we can’t find in their stores. We can see if we can get a better price from the local vendor. The bottom line is… “If I shopped today…could I have shopped local?” One local purchase at a time is all it takes to build a stronger local economy. That’s all it takes! As the old saying goes,… “We’ll be here, as long as you are here!”

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

Publisher’s Note Scott Sumner I first met Justin Trudeau when he was a MP and up in Thunder Bay to do a talk for a local charity. My second visit was when Justin made a quick stop at the airport just before the election. The third time seeing now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at Thunder Bay Transit where he made an announcement about how his government intend to fund transit in Thunder Bay. Times have certainly changed when you visit a Prime Minister as first I was questioned by local police and asked to show my identity. Then you placed your camera bag on the transit building floor and had a police dog sniff it. The number of RCMP and other security was quite high. Also the

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Makes A Thunder Bay Stop To Talk About Transit schedule was tightly controlled with limited time. When you are Prime Minister it is a whole different thing it seems. Be ready for lots of steps and less time. My first visit with Justin Trudeau was just me and him for 15 minutes! Don’t get me wrong it was fun to see the spectacle and I like seeing the enthusiasm for our Prime Minister. It is also good to see our city well represented in the Liberal government as well with MP’s Patty Hajdu, cabinet minister and Don Rusnak. Something tells me this should help us see some good progress here in our part of the world!

Work Authority Opens Store In Thunder Bay ence are working together to get a much better boot according to Robert Kraft. “ We are a foot care specialty store first and foremost. We have branched into apparel including high visibility,” said Robert. “ Our store opened February 4th with soft opening to get a feel for the needs here. The store will evolve as we work with the customers. It has been an excellent start and we are building. The Home and Garden show

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS The national chain of stores, Work Authority has opened a new location in

Thunder Bay at the McIntyre Centre Plaza on Memorial Avenue. This store will offer a complete selection of safety footwear and other products for you. Robert Kraft is the Store Manager, Work Authority at the McIntyre Centre Thunder Bay. He was born in Thunder Bay but moved away at age 16. After doing a career stint with the army and having been away for a long time he got offered a job here in Thunder Bay and jumped at the opportunity to come home. Work Authority has 40 stores across the country from coast to coast Newfoundland to BC. They are a corporate store owned by Dickies and Kodiac Group and Holdings. There is a great selection of brand name foot wear for the city. The store owner is the manufactor of the name brands. “ We can help anyone if you use foot safety wear and pride ourselves on customer service. Our knowledge of our footwear will help. We ask people when they come in what type of work they do and will suggest a boot for you,” said Robert. “ It is important to be comfortable. I have a saying you only have two feet and will only ever have two feet so you have to take care of those two feet. So get a great pair of shoes that fit well and are comfortable.” The companies are constantly developing better foot beds, soles and can mimic an orthotic. Technology and sci-

really helped our visibility. It has been growing nicely. It is a fabulous location with great visibility.’ “ We will recommend a certain type of boot and sole etc for you so come on down and check out our great selection.”

www.hatch.ca

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

Tourism – Travel & Eco-Adventure Students to Get Truly HandsOn Experience Thanks to Collaboration with Wasaya Airways BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS Students in the Tourism – Travel and Eco-Adventure program at Confederation College got a truly handson experiencerecently, thanks to a new

“ They got a detailed tour of the various sections of the aircraft, practiced inflight demonstrations and learned some tips and tricks from Wasaya’s Flight Attendant staff. This is one of four days of on-site training with Wasaya students will benefit from.

Giannina Veltri, Program Director Tourism & Caitlin Woof, student Travel & Eco – Adventure

collaboration with Wasaya Airways LP. 14 students taking the Flight Attendant course as part of their fourth semester of the program, got to practice their skills on board an actual aircraft alongside experienced professionals working in the field.

Giannina Veltri, Program Director Tourism – Travel and Eco-Adventure program at Confederation College “ Today we had a real life scenario doing in flight safety demonstrations by reenacting them. Our program has a wide array of career opportunities avail-

able to the graduates with the travel side which includes the travel agencies, airlines, flight attendants or in the eco side with resorts, parks or tour guides.” “ The students really enjoy the program. It is a good program if you don’t exactly know what you want to do but love travel and the outdoors. You get a number of certifications as well. We went to Peru recently which was a real eye opener to another culture. In a few months the students will get jobs .”

been a great program. We are all very close in the program after just coming back from Peru where we got sick and had very high temperatures. “ I have been able to learn a lot about different places of the world, some I didn’t know existed. After finishing this program I hope to move to Toronto where there are a lot of travel and tourism opportunities and see where that leads me. I would like to do tour guiding say at Casaloma.”

Caitlin Woof is a student Travel & Eco – Adventure and from Red Lake. “ I enjoy being around people and decided to make tourism a career. It has

“… all others pay cash.” Contractors wish that getting paid could be so simple. From small renovation jobs, to giant office tower, contractors have had a hard time getting paid- there are signs of it

back to Roman times. Construction liens were created over a hundred years ago to address the problem of owners getting the benefit of work or materials, without paying. Construction liens however are not an ideal solution- the owner’s liability is limited; there is no real guarantee of prompt payment; the process is complex; the cost is too high for small jobs; a sub-contractor filing a lien often fears being blacklisted on future projects. The first comprehensive review of Ontario’s Construction Lien Act since the 1980s has just produced a report, and some

of these problems might be resolved. Until that becomes reality, if it ever does, other options must be explored. Some of these are familiar, such as deposits; installment payments; bonding and guarantees. All of these, however, depend upon bargaining power in an environment where the best jobs have terms dictated by the payers. Another potential solution which many suppliers and contractors might overlook is the trust provisions of the Construction Lien Act. These sections have recently

been the focus of renewed interest and activity, as, in the right circumstances, they allow unpaid parties to “pierce the corporate veil” and claim payment from the real people behind their payer.

Legal Matters When a payor receives funds, but does not use them to pay for work or supplies which could have been the subject of a lien, a trust claim is possible. In addition to the payor, you may be able to sue officers, directors, or others who controlled the payor. This personal liability may add deep pockets to the process. Often the individual defendants are motivated to pay or settle to protect their assets. Trust claims are brought in separate actions from lien claims, with different time limits and rules. They may be brought even if you missed the deadline to file a lien. Trust claims also may enjoy priority in bankruptcy or even survive bankruptcy. If you are a contractor, trade or supplier who is having trouble getting paid, a claim under the trust provisions may be a powerful collection tool. Weilers has been advising on construction contracts and claims for almost 70 years.

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Prince Arthur’s Landing Wins a prestigious, province wide design award… Design Excellence BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS Prince Arthur’s Landing just nabbed a prestigious, province wide design award…

The small seed investment has had a larger impact with more tourists and residential development. People see the value of architecture investment. The long term

impact gives a massive increase over the life cycle of the buildings. The master plan for all the buildings fit together and will continue to happen.” These awards to open to any OAA member firm. They had submissions this year from mostly Ontario, but also Kamloops, Surrey, Montreal, Vancouver, two from Edmonton Russia and the Middle East. There were 185 submissions this year, and Design Excellence at the 2016 Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Awards. Since opening, the site has seen 5 times the number of users (100,000 annually) and the creation of 9 new local businesses. Toon Dreessen is the President of OAA Have you seen the site? “ I had an opportunity to visit Prince Arthur’s Landing several times last summer and really enjoyed it. You can see the area is quite beautiful and the development is having a good impact on the community with people using it. I am really excited it has won an award.” What is the award all about? “ The award is a design excellence award. It is more than the building is beautiful or existed on its own but about how the building functions, its meaning and impact on a broader community. Does it make good business sense, is there something of value to the building and how does it support better architecture in its community and have a broader social impact that is positive.” Why did this project win an award? “ We can see the Prince Arthur's Landing in its context with the marina, the outdoor ampitheatre and the history of everything in the area. It is having a positive impact by bringing tourism and businesses to the area and developing a broader impact. There has been a five fold increase in visitors to the area and 9 new businesses.” “ The investment has been municipally driven with a master plan and the impact of the investment has had a broad impact.

20 were short listed as really spectacular. Of those 20, 10 were given awards. “ Prince Arthur's Landing is a world class project and special . I think it is fantastic and I absolutely loved it. It fits with in its context beautifully. The overall harmonization of the site is reflective of aboriginal culture.”

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

Vector Construction Ltd. Celebrate 30 Years In Thunder Bay BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS Vector Construction opened their first office in Thunder Bay, April 1986 over 30 years ago. Company founder

Dave Whitmore came into town and started the operation. The overall Vector company was 50 years old last year. Vector Thunder Bay has had a few locations in Thunder Bay, now at

Burbidge Street near Leon’s Furniture. The business started out of the back of Dave Whitmore’s truck here. “ Vector in Thunder Bay has done well. We are a specialized contractor. Pulp and Paper has been a big part of our business over the years and still is a good business. Recently we have spent a lot of time and energy diversifying into other areas.” said Jason Thompson Division Manager of Vector Construction. Vector in Thunder Bay have several areas of services including- concrete

tion services. The firm does masonry work including new or repairing existing masonry. They have a lot of technologies to use like carbon fiber reinforcement in concrete. . “ Our philosophy is doing the right thing by finding out the problem and coming up with a solutions that will work best for our customers. Our reputation is on the line and we don’t want to do a quick patch job,”says Jason. “ In Thunder Bay some of our staff have been with us for over 25 years.” Traditionally the summer season is

corrosion, restoration, industrial coatings, masonry construction and restoration, refractory services - lining of vessels, boilers and lime kilns. The concrete area could involve containment areas, pads and corrosion mitiga-

the busiest for Vector. In 2016 they have come out of the gates flying and been very busy. Vector will have from 30 to 70 employees working out of Thunder Bay. They are headed with a big team of about 60 to Dryden to work at the paper mill.

Jason Thompson Division Manager of Vector Construction.

Continued

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Vector Construction Ltd. Celebrate 30 Years In Thunder Bay

Continued “ At Vector we spend a lot of time on developing internally, looking at our performance indicators and how we can better engage our customers. A few weeks ago we had a branding workshop where we take our company values and share then with everyone in the company and determine how we can improve. At the end of the day Vector is a company that is built around it’s people. We understand the value of the human asset.” notes Jason. Currently Vector is doing some restoration work at Red River Parkade project. They are also engaging with Pic Mobert Hydro helping them with some work. They have some opportuni-

ties in Northern Minnesota and at the local grain elevators. “ We spent lots of time and effort marketing to the sectors of transportation, grain and mining and it is starting to pay off by getting people to realize what we do.” says Jason Thompson. “ I am a big supporter of NW Ontario, born and raised here, and see lots of opportunity. Forestry is on the upswing again and that’s exciting. We need to find the people to work on these opportunities. We need entrepreneurs to go out and develop. At Vector a key focus is creating partnerships with the First Nations communities. How can we build capacity, do the right thing and grow and foster with a partnership that is mutually good for both people

allowing the parties to grow. Vector has a history of doing this.” Vector has 9 branches in Canada and the US and sales teams in Europe and Asia. There are 500 people working in the whole company. They have won an

award for being one of Canada’s best managed companies.

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

Canadian Cancer Society Volunteer Recognition BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS Each spring in Thunder Bay the Canadian Cancer Society hold a luncheon to thank volunteers for their work. I asked speaker at the event Katie Wright, PHD Senior Manager Research Communications for Canadian Cancer Society Ontario Division some basic questions. What is cancer? “Cancer is when genetic changes happens within a cell that cause it to grow in unpredictable and abnormal ways. Genes that control how often a cell divides maybe

turned off and the cells might start to grow uncontrollably. Those usually grow into masses and then can start to interfere with the function of the organ they are in or press into other organs. They can break off and go into the blood stream and go into different organs and spread and affect multiple systems.”

of money.” “ There will never be one cure. There are over 200 different types of cancers which need different ways to study. I am optimistic we are developing more ways to treat cancer.” Why does cancer happen in some peo-

Maria Cabral, Manager of Northwestern Communities for the Canadian Cancer Society “ We are doing well in Thunder Bay. The more support we get the better, but we are certainly appreciating the volunteers and community partners. We couldn’t do the work we do with out them. The region is

You are funding many research studies? “ We are trying to find new treatments all the time. For instance we are funding ways to stimulate our immune system. Our goal is to raise more money. We can only fund about 30% of the research projects but with more money we can fund more research. Thunder Bay is raising a lot

Krysta Logozzo, Maria Cabral, Dr. Katie Wright ple? “Cancer can happen for many reasons. A small percentage is bad luck. You may have inherited mutations. A lot is due to environment conditions like smoking, UV rays or occupational exposure. It is all about living a healthy lifestyle, not to smoke, to drink too much, to exercise and eat healthy. Over 50% of all cancers are preventable by having a healthy lifestyle.”

vast from White River to the Manitoba border with 18 pockets of communities. Our volunteers are the boots on the ground.” “ We have had budgets up to $1.6 million annually to raise but it changes one year from the next depending on the economy say in the communities like Terrace Bay or Red Lake. We have 5 staff, two interns from NOHFC and the front desk is volunteers.”

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Ontario Supports Expansion of Port of Thunder Bay Michael Gravelle

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS

Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Chair of the NOHFC

Province Increasing Port Capacity, Strengthening Local Economy

“By investing in the expansion of goods handling capabilities at the Port of Thunder Bay, we are ensuring that this facility will continue to be an important hub for the movement of cargo destined for Western Canada and into the Great Lakes system. I am very pleased that the province could support this project and help retain good jobs for our local residents.” Bill Mauro MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan

Ontario is helping Thunder Bay Port Authority expand its dock-side operations and construct a new storage facility to handle more cargo. With an investment of $1 million through the province's Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), Thunder Bay Port Authority is building on its Keefer Terminal operations. The project involves the removal of an obsolete building to create a larger loading area and constructing a new 40,000 square-foot storage facility that will allow the port to handle more goods. Since 2003, the province has committed over $1.1 billion through the NOHFC to 7,310 projects, leveraging more than $3.9 billion in direct economic activity and creating or sustaining over 27,500 jobs in Northern Ontario. Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in the province's history -about $160 billion over 12 years, which is making 110,000 jobs possible every year across the province, with projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals. In 2015, the province announced support for more than 325 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. Investing in economic development in the North is part of the government's economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario's history and investing in a lowcarbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

Quick Facts • Thunder Bay Port Authority is a government business enterprise with a mission to promote and invest in the efficient integration of marine, rail, and road transportation systems and participate in the region’s economic development. • The Keefer Terminal complex – a marine warehouse/storage/intermodal facility – handles cargo destined for Western Canada and serves the major industries in Northwestern Ontario. • For the 2015 shipping season, the Port of Thunder Bay handled 8.9 million metric tonnes, ranking as the third-strongest year since 2000. • In 2014, Thunder Bay Port Authority provided record financial results and led to the generation of $1.5 million from operations. • In 2011, Thunder Bay Port Authority received a $1 million NOHFC investment to acquire a new crane capable of lifting up to 104 tonnes of cargo between marine vessels and rail or truck trailers • In the Thunder Bay area, the NOHFC has invested about $181 mil-

lion in 1,453 projects that have helped generate or retain more than 5,500 jobs since 2003. • The NOHFC’s investments in the North’s transportation infrastructure are an important part of the Ontario government’s Growth Plan for Northern Ontario.

Quotes “Improving Northern Ontario’s transportation infrastructure is a key objective of the

Growth Plan for Northern Ontario. Our government’s investment in Keefer Terminal will not only expand Thunder Bay Port Authority’s ability to move more cargo, it will also contribute to the regional economy and support jobs in the area.” “ The focus of the fund is to build the economy in Northern Ontario and no bet-

ter use than to support the Port of Thunder and the Keefer Terminal. This will allow them to build a new cargo storage building. It helps employ 880 people in Thunder Bay.

“The 2015 season was a successful shipping period for the Port of Thunder Bay and our expansion of the Keefer Terminal operations will help us further enhance our capacity to handle more goods and cargo. This provincial investment will help us better utilize our dock-side operations and establish new modern storage facilities.” “The building is about 40,000 square feet in size similar to the last building we built in 2005. It will be a heated structure, clear span and have many uses. Construction should start in the fall and completion date 2018.’ “ The Port generates our own income. It helps us with this Ontario investment and the crane investment recently.” “ Keefer is a 90 acres site and the whole port about 350 acres, Some of the buildings are now 50 years old and we need new buildings and heated as well. Keefer has about 150 people working right now.” Tim Heney CEO, Thunder Bay Port Authority

“ It is always a happy day when you get $1 million dollars in the community. The Port does great work for the city. It is a great economic driver in our economy and creates jobs.” “ I worked before doing harbour sounding in the lake and also worked in the grain elevators and had a lot of experience around ships. As mayor to see the economic impact is great.” Keith Hobbs, Mayor of Thunder Bay

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THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2016

Don’t Just Sit There! Scientists and the general public have known for years that inactivity was deleterious to our health. But based on multiple studies over the last few years it is now official. Inactivity, especially prolonged sitting can significantly increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and overall death rate. The new tag line in the sci-

entific community these days is that sitting is the “new smoking”. When combining all sitting throughout the waking day, which includes in the car, at the desk, in front of the television

or computer, the average person sits for 7-8 hours per day. In fact, health professionals have started to unofficially call long periods of inactivity and its negative consequences the “sitting disease”. Just in case you thought this was all hype let me refer to a few studies which may surprise you. · A 2010 American Cancer Society published a study which included over 123 000 people (70,000 women and 53,000 men) from 1993 to 2006. Women who were inactive for over 6 hours per day were 94% more likely to die during that time period than women who sat for less than 3 hours per day. For men the same criteria showed a 48% increase in death rate. · Another study compared adults who sat in front of a television or screen of any sort for entertainment . Those people who sat for more than four hours per day were 50% more likely to die from any cause and had a 125% increase in cardiovascular disease compared to those that sat recreationally for less than two hours.

What is even more astonishing with all these studies is that they report that whether or not you engaged in a few hours of vigorous exercise throughout the week made no difference to your risks. In other words, the negative effects of prolonged sitting is significantly more influential on your health than the positive effects of doing an hour of exercise 3 times per week. So where do we go from here? How do we change this pattern? Well, the first step is awareness. If you have read this far into my column you are now considered aware. The next step is to take action, literally. Even if you have a desk job there are ways to creatively get up and get moving. Making some of your phone calls while you are standing or even walking, investing in a desk that will alternate heights or try having some of your meetings with colleagues while you are all walking instead of in a conference room. You may think that these minor and slow paced movements are trivial. But you would be wrong. Not only will you actually burn calories but increased muscle activity just from standing triggers

important body process which help to breakdown fat and sugars. Sitting causes these process to stall. The negative effects of prolonged sitting do not just stop with poor health. They also cause our economy to stall. A joint report from ParticipACTION and The Conference Board of Canada state that by getting just 10% of the Canadian adults to sit less and move more would decrease government health care costs by billions of dollars. With a little bit of effort hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancers combined would be reduced by over 600 000 cases by 2040. Considering that the government spends 50 cents of the Canadian dollar on health care, it seems that the only economically prudent course of action would be to make the health, wellness and prevention agenda a top priority on the ladder of fiscal responsibility.

James DiGiuseppe is a local chiropractor with a busy family and wellness practice. For more health information or to contact Dr DiGiuseppe visit www.portarthurchiropractic.com.

The Beat of the Drum to be Heard Across the Region this May BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS From a dream to reality, a local woman has a vision to bring 500 traditional handdrummers from all walks of life together

this Mother's Day. The first-time event will remind the community to take care of our children and will promote healing, as hundreds of community members will listen to the heartbeat of Mother Earth. The beat of the drum will be heard across the region.

Francis Wesley, coordinator “ I had a dream some years ago and because of the sad news I have been hearing lately about young people being lost-

my dream was to get the hand drummers together. In one of my dreams I could see mostly women walking and playing the hand drum.” “ We are aiming for 500 hand drummers to

participate. We do have a lot of people coming. We are expecting people from Ottawa, Timmins, Sioux Lookout, Kenora and the closeby First Nations communities. I think it will help bind us together and let

everyone know we care. The path is from Waverly Park to the Marina.” “ My dream keeps coming back to me and I am glad that I can do this.

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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Thunder Bay ReStore 20th Anniversary By Sherry Aalto When you gather all the contributions of all of the volunteers and all of the participation from all of the clients and all who gave and still give to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, you have something that is nothing short of a miracle for the making! We all say Happy 20th Anniversary to Habitat for Humanity ReStore located at 660 Squier Street, Thunder Bay Ontario! The Thunder Bay ReStore celebrated their 20th year in operation from March 21, 2016 to March 26th, 2016, and the many that participated in this notable, earmark for this ‘Not for Profit’ Organization. The birth of the ReStore came when Brian Seargeant was in Toronto for a housing conference and heard a speech by the President of Habitat for Humanity Canada. The idea of helping low-income families build their own homes with a lowinterest, affordable mortgage struck a deep note with Brian Seargeant, who brought the idea back to Thunder Bay in 1995 and in 1996 the local chapter was born. Brian Seargeant and Tom Cooke were instrumental in getting The Thunder Bay ReStore opened, which started at a Front Street building, no larger than a typical garage. Later in 2000, the ReStore moved to its current location, 660 Squier Street. A year ago an expansion to 10,000 square feet was completed. About 34,000 customers were served last year and they took in 5,250 donations. The ReStore uses the net revenues to pay for the administrative expenses for the Habitat, which include any expense for people who work for the Habitat and also the expense for the building, but when they fund raise, the money goes entirely to the build for the houses. What a perfect way to give to the community! This ‘Not for Profit’ organization is proud to say that none of the funds come from any government source or agency. The ReStore is totally autonomous, deriving its revenues through sales in the store for all kinds of

products. And the new builds for the houses are afforded through fund raisers. According to Manager Christa Ayotte and CEO, Diane Mitchell, Habitat for Humanity, build at least one house per year and there have been 27 houses built to date. Manager Christa Ayotte is excited to say that the next new build is proposed sometime in the near future on Finlayson Street at Simpson Street. The property that the houses are built on are either donated by someone or Habitat for Humanity purchases through fund raising events. Everything takes time and no one can determine when the financial goal will be met for the amount needed for the next build. A Build Coordinator, that is paid staff, acquired for Habitat for Humanity for the build and then the house is built solely by volunteers. The Build Coordinator is acquired through job ad competition like any other job. The house size is determined by lot size and what type of house is needed for the qualifying family. The qualifying families must meet a certain criteria and details can be acquired from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. The newly built houses are sold to the qualifying family, which is selected through a Blind Process, by a Selection Committee. The Selection Committee does not know anything about the qualifying families, other than their income, how many people in the family, what ages are involved and genders, so nothing else about the families are ever revealed that would ever determine a ‘biased’ selection. The selected family owns the house and pays an interest free, geared to income mortgage. Two of the biggest fund raising events are the ‘RESTORE IT EVENT’. That is where items are purchased at a discounted price from the Restore and ‘upcycled’ to make them into something new, for a different use or more modern to compliment a home that you may have now. Another event is the ‘GINGERBREAD CREATIONS’, for which there is a competition. Then there are third party events where other people help by organizing them and then a contribution is made to Habitat for Humanity. The ReStore is a great place for summer

students to volunteer as part of their requirement for their curriculum. Also, anyone who just wants to be a part of something that is contributing to the community either by volunteering time or by donation. And if you are donating funds over $20.00, you can receive a receipt towards your next taxation year for your contribution. The ReStore has been successful in its survival because of what the community gives to it and the Restore gives back to the community! It all started with passion by one person and it survives because of passion from many people who care! So here are some facts that you might find interesting:

munity. Our ReStore wouldn’t have been so successful without the support of the community. ReStore has seen $5,000,000 in revenue over the last 20 years. Since 1996, the ReStore has kept over 6 million pounds of waste from our local landfill, which is the equivalent of just over 6,500 peoples’ garbage. WOW! The ReStore is proud of its history in Thunder Bay for the past 20 years and looks forward to serving the community for many more years to come. Habitat for Humanity has been here for 20 years now. Now that is something to celebrate!

Over the last twenty years, the Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay ReStore has provided 79 children with new homes and hope for their future. For the last two decades the ReStore has generated revenue that goes towards Habitat for Humanity’s administrative costs, allowing monetary donations and fundraising efforts to go directly to the building of homes for low income families in our com-

Donate time, funds or items to the Restore. It is your choice! Then go and celebrate because you have made a decision to be part of something that really gives back to where you live! Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 660 Squier Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, (807)346-4884, or www.habitattbay.com or you can just google habitat for humanity Thunder Bay

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