Building infrastructure to attract new industry ‘with a sense of urgency’ is key
Mike Behan arrived in Fort Frances in 1987 to take up a position as a sports reporter for The Fort Frances Times. Three years later, he would become the paper’s editor and 29 years after that, he retired to join Fort Frances Town Council.
“I thought it was time for a change, and rather than critiquing from behind the editor’s desk, I thought it was more important to be at the decision-making table, and I could be more effective that way,” Behan said. “So that’s why I chose to run in 2018 for my first term.”
The only two-term incumbent councillor running for re-election in 2026, Behan believes that bringing industry back to the town is key to the future.
“We definitely need to bring in industry. The mill has been shuttered now since 2014. That’s 12 years. It’s time to get more industry here and other businesses to support job creation as well as broadening our tax base,” Behan said.
“Right now, I don’t think it’s sustainable that fewer and fewer taxpayers are shouldering more and more of the burden. So we have to find a way to increase our revenues by broadening our tax base, and we also need, of course, to upgrade and expand our infrastructure to accommodate future growth and development.”
Behan said the current council has worked towards preparing for additional industry in the community, for example, helping the Fort Frances Power Corp. to expand and upgrade its capacity to produce energy, improving the sewage lift stations and increasing the capacity of the water treatment and sewage treatment plants, “all things we have to do in order to attract industry and have the infrastructure available for it.”
Attracting industry to the town will also require the expansion of housing opportunities to accommodate an expanding workforce, Behan said.
“We need housing; we all know how dire the housing situation is, especially rentals for companies or businesses like The Times trying to bring in people and how hard it is to find them a place to live,” he said.
“It goes part and parcel together that, in order to invite and entice and spur economic development going forward, we have to take care of all these infrastructure needs, and that takes money and also careful planning.”
Behan believes the town is setting itself up well for developers to come in and build in the community.
“I know that improving and revamping and updating the community improvement plan will go a long way towards revitalizing businesses and also residential places,” he said.
“I think that’s important, but again, it’s the infrastructure. We’re now looking at trying to get Shevlin Woodyard developed, so we’re making some infrastructure changes there. We’ve laid the groundwork for future development and growth; it’s now time to encourage and reach out to and pursue all these opportunities.”
“We have to also have a sense of urgency,” Behan said. I think we’ve been sort of spinning our tires a little bit, and the time to act is now. I’m not saying throw careful planning and due diligence out the window, but we have to tackle these things with more urgency, and I think that’s something that I would push for at the next council, if I get elected.”
Behan also believes it is important for the town to continue reconciliation efforts with local Indigenous communities, citing town council’s recent approval of a draft Reconciliation Policy, which he calls “a good starting point.”
“But it’s just that, a starting point, and it’s a living document. There will be some changes and amendments as we go along and look to improve. I think it’s very important that we just work together for the benefit of all our residents. The Point Park was an irritant for many years. I’m glad that it’s settled. I accept the decision, but I just want to move forward now. It’s time to work together with collaboration and partnerships to benefit all of our residents and all of our communities.”
Behan would also like to see the community improve its standing as a tourism destination.
“I moved here in 1987, and making Fort Frances ‘a destination, not a gateway,’ was the problem back then. Almost 40 years later, we’re still talking about it. So we have to look at events that, like the Rib Fest, complement each other, don’t compete with each other.”
“We want to see these events and festivals and growth utilizing Rainy Lake Square for different events and whatnot to draw visitors in and give them a reason to come to town for a day or two, or to enjoy a show, whatever the case may be. And I think that’s key. But it’s careful planning of how we go about doing that because you have to figure out what works.”
