Duane Hicks
Some have called the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre a jewel in the crown of Fort Frances, and Ontario Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell wholeheartedly agrees.
Dowdeswell, who was in Fort Frances last Wednesday as part of her tour of Northern Ontario, said the state-of-the-art facility was the highlight of her visit here.
“It’s such an amazing community hub,” she remarked.
“That’s a place where there are no borders,” added Dowdeswell. “It doesn’t matter which side of the street you live in, if you’re aboriginal, non-aboriginal—it’s your library.
“And it not only is a repository for things of the past, but it’s so impressive in terms of the creative way in which is brings in technology,” she noted. “There’s areas where people can actually create images and turn them into 3-D objects—just amazing things.
“And the accessibility of the computers, the ways in which the library has reached out to meet the needs the of community—it’s just amazing to see,” said Dowdeswell. “For me, of all the things I saw, that was the one that really talked about being at the heart of the community.”
Dowdeswell’s tour of Fort Frances also included a visit to the Fort Frances Tourist Information Centre, a walking tour of Point Park, lunch and a meeting with town council and area First Nations representatives, and a tour of the community, including Public Works and the Sorting Gap Marina.
Dowdeswell said her overarching observation is how pleasant everyone was.
“It’s been a very welcoming visit,” she remarked. “One of the words I heard over and over again was the word ‘partnership,’ and it seems to me that just an approach the people of this community take to getting things done together.
“They don’t rely on other people to do things—they find out ways to do it themselves,” added Dowdeswell.
Having been to Dryden and Kenora before her stop here, Dowdeswell said all the communities have had economic challenges with mill shutdowns and the like.
“People are really being challenged with how to turn that into something positive, what kind of economic development the future is going to bring?
“But I think people are thinking about it creatively and still managing to make sure there is a cohesive community,” she added.
“As you drive around, you notice everything looks well-kept and maintained—clearly people have a love for their surroundings and their community,” remarked Dowdeswell.
Speaking more generally about the region, Dowdeswell said Northwestern Ontario is one of the most beautiful parts of the province.
“It’s hard to tell whether it’s a big body os water with lots of little islands in it and settlements around it or whether it’s a piece of land interspersed with water sometimes,” she said with a smile.
“But it really is quite unlike other parts of the province. It’s quite beautiful; you can’t help but understand why people would live in these communities—because of their attraction to nature,” added Dowdeswell.
“On the other hand, how one provides the economic development and innovation that’s required at the same time as maintaining that stewardship of the environment, and doing so in a way that sustains the community, is a really difficult challenge these days,” she remarked.
Dowdeswell said the purpose of her visit here, and her overall Northern Ontario tour, was to get an overview of the communities and issues of local importance.
“One of the joys I have as lieutenant governor is getting out to see the people all across the province, ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things. And talking to people about what their challenges are, what their interests are, what their successes are,” she remarked.
“I get to be a bit of a storyteller, so I can tell the stories of this community to the next community I’m going to. It really is a wonderful opportunity,” added Dowdeswell. “This province is so big and has such a diversity of people and activities that this is a wonderful chance to get to know it better.”
Dowdeswell said she is often somewhat aware of the issues facing various communities before she visits them, there’s no substitute for finding out what those are for herself.
“When you read the newspapers about the communities, you know some of the background to it, but it’s only when you get into the community and have a chance to talk to the mayor and councillors and folks at universities and schools and businesses, that you really get a chance to see what’s going on,” she noted.
Dowdeswell said she is very interested to see how communities deal with change.
“All of us are beginning to realize the kind of interdependent world we’re living in now and how complex and how fast-moving it is,” she remarked.
“And some communities left behind when that happens. It’s intriguing to see how decision-makers are making changes for the future,” added Dowdeswell.
Although her role as lieutenant governor is an apolitical one, Dowdeswell said she speak regularly with Premier Kathleen Wynne and plenty of opportunities to share with people her thoughts and observations without being prescriptive about them.
