NOHFC - 20th Anniversary
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NOHFC Reaches 20 Years Into The Past To Celebrate Anniversary
For 20 years now the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) has played a significant role in fostering community and economic development in Northern Ontario. That important milestone has been celebrated throughout the summer (the fund was formally established in June 1988) prior to every regular meeting of the board of directors.
From its original $30-million annual allocation in 1988-89 to what has become a $60-million-a-year fund, many of us who work and live in the North have seen the beneficial impacts of NOHFC investments in our communities either in the form of new, renewed, modernized or expanded public infrastructure or in the form of new private sector activity.
Celebratory receptions have so far been held in Gore Bay, Hearst, Kenora, and Parry Sound. Others are planned for North Bay, Dryden and Elliot Lake between now and the end of the fiscal year. While announcing new funding is a staple of any community event involving the minister, NOHFC anniversary events have been decidedly retrospective. At every stop, the NOHFC has reached back in time to honour original private sector funding recipients whose businesses continue to contribute to the local economy.
“One of our government’s most important commitments for the North was to return the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to its original mandate of supporting private sector job creation and economic development,” noted MNDMF Minister and NOHFC Chair Michael Gravelle. “We see the heritage fund as a key economic tool to bring renewed prosperity to the North and essential to leveraging our upcoming Growth Plan for Northern Ontario. I have enjoyed being a part of these 20th anniversary celebrations.”
Executive Director Aime Dimatteo takes special pride in the anniversary milestone. He notes without hesitation the efforts and commitment of the hard working and diligent ministry staff to delivering the best possible programs and services to NOHFC partners. And inasmuch as the past 20 years have produced very good results, the NOHFC’s eye is squarely on the future.
“Many business and community success stories have come out of our first 20 years and our challenge is to leverage investments that will make our next 20 years even more productive,” he says. “Like a fine wine, the NOHFC has aged well and its programs will continue to be closely aligned with the growth priorities of northerners.”
 Drapers Bakery, North Bay |
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