It is not a dramatic charting of a whole new direction for the library. Instead, the new strategic plan recently unveiled by the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre is progressive, building on well-planned understanding about what a public library needs to be in the 21st century. The document is […]
Editorials
Ask yourself if you are prepared to invest in future opportunities across Rainy River District? Could the district find 100 people willing to invest $100,000 into a Community Investment Fund. This is all hypothetical but such a fund would identify good investments that would create employment and long-term jobs. For […]
For the past three months, the district has been on a roller-coaster ride. It began with the announcement in early December that an investment group known as Repap was interested in bidding on the mill in Fort Frances up to word Monday morning that Resolute had rejected the offer delivered […]
The announcement by the Ministry of Health to reorganize health-care delivery across the province almost mimics a recent Northern Policy Institute study that looked at local decision-making in the health-care system in Northern Ontario. Study author Eric Everett had called for greater integration, and more local and regional control, of […]
Did you ever stop to think how much our lives are enriched by volunteers? Pause and think about how much our everyday common lives benefit by all the work that volunteers do. Without volunteers, cultural programs such as Tour De Fort, Kids & Company or the Border Concert series would […]
“All of us together is wondrous” (Len-People “Come Together” lyrics) A community grows when it comes together. We’ve watched as the community of Rainy River District grew together behind the council of Fort Frances in working to have the fibre from the Crossroute Forest clearly designated for the mill at […]
With a common voice, area reeves, mayors, and chiefs came out in support of Fort Frances council last night to pass a resolution holding the provincial government accountable for making wood from the Crossroute Forest available to any new operator of the idled mill here. It was a great night […]
The Town of Fort Frances has been working with Repap, a company formed to acquire the Fort Frances paper mill from Resolute Forest Products. Acting on the best interests of the town, surrounding First Nations, and municipalities, the town has made multiple representations to provincial cabinet members to encourage the […]
Whether it is the Ontario Health Coalition, the Progressive Conservative Party, or the New Democratic Party, everyone seems in agreement that the provincial health-care system is not meeting expectations. Since taking office last June, the Ford government has appointed the Premier’s Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine. […]
In order to ensure the long-term viability of our rural area of Ontario, we must begin to develop strategies to attract immigrants to fill the jobs that exist here. Last week, for instance, more than 50 jobs seeking both skilled tradespeople and professional persons were promoted on various mediums in […]
As Ontario reaches full employment, many jobs go begging for people. Often it is the case that training is a prerequisite, whether you are an teacher, doctor, nurse, engineer, scientist, electrician, construction worker, brick layer, heavy equipment operator, or any number of the hundreds of jobs that go unanswered every […]
A headline in Friday’s Chronicle Journal read “Economy relies on people.” It could have read “It’s the population, stupid.” Our biggest challenge across Rainy River District, and all of Northwestern Ontario for that matter, is attracting immigrants to take up jobs in our communities. Somehow, we need to develop policies […]
