Town & Country

2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018 T H O M P S O N Highway 10 North Opaskwayak, MB p. 204-627-7230 f. 204-623-2770 www.otinekamall.ca otineka mall The largest mall in the North Three Levels, 225,000 sq. ft. indoor shopping mall & recreation & office complex We now have a grocery tenant The Pas Family Foods SPACE NOW AVAILABLE FOR LEASING INQUIRIES Contact General Manager @ otinekamall@gmail.com • Two anchor tenants: Red Apple (reopened in a new 16,000 sq ft location) and the Sports Traders • 13 retail stores • 30 machine Video Lotto Centre • Administration offices on the 3rd level. YOUR FULL-SERVICE DEALER FOR TRUCKS, SUV's AND VANS • SALES • PARTS • SERVICE • RENTALS 204 338-4292 WWW.OVERLANDTRUCK.COM COMPLETE LINE OF TRUCK ACCESSORIES 102 Aviation Blvd. St. Andrews, MB R1A 3N5 Manitoba's Leading Truck Cap Dealer Armaguard Spray-in Bedliner Highest Quality Protection for Your Truck • Truck Caps • Grill Guards • Running Boards • Box Liners • Hood Guards • Tonneau Covers • Visors & Extenders • Mud Flaps • Ladder Racks • Floor Mats • Step Tubes • Bed Slides • Window Shades • Light Covers • Ground Effects • Box Mats • Tailgate Guards • Tool Boxes • Box Rails • Hitches & Wiring • Plus Much More! RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL & FURNACE REPAIRS BOX 1743 332 MORRISH RD THE PAS, MB 204-623-2388 204-620-0522 TREVSELECTRIC@LIVE.CA Spreading the word that Thompson is a great place to live, work and invest — not to mention play — is just one part of the job for Thompson 2020. Formed in the summer of 2017 through a partnership with Vale, the City of Thompson and the provincial and federal governments, the 2020 team is also working hard to ensure that the city continues to live up to that billing. Economic development officer Keisha Davis and two project managers, Tim Gibson and Harold Smith, were enlisted to work with city administrators and other stakeholders to ensure that Thompson's economy remains sustainable in the wake of mining giant Vale's restructuring of its local operation. They've chalked up several achievements, but Davis says there's plenty of work to be done before their two-year mandate ends next summer. "We're a small team trying to impact big change," she says. Thompson 2020 is focused on four key areas — economic development and redevelopment, workforce retention and people retention — in its efforts to foster a more diversified economic base, enhance local amenities and tourism assets, promote investment and mitigate job losses following the closure of Vale's smelter and refinery, In some instances, the group has leveraged work previously done by the Thompson Economic Development Working Group (TEDWG), Community Sustainability Plan, Thompson Aboriginal Accord and others to maximize benefits to the community. For example, along with hosting a trio of job fairs to connect workers with potential employers, Thompson 2020 followed through on a TEDWG plan to create a workforce development centre to provide training geared to the specific needs of area employers. "In terms of overlap, the workforce development centre was started with TEDWG but never happened. The partners came back to the table and that has resulted in the Northern Workforce Development Centre being established at University College of the North," Davis says. "It's not on the scale that TEDWG had planned, but it has been established and it's actually doing work in terms of providing training on a needs basis. It's training for jobs that are here." Efforts to enhance the city's ability to attract and retain residents have included developing a community amenity improvement plan that would also bolster the business landscape. And Davis says processes have been started to access Crown land and rezone city-owned land to accommodate lakefront cottage and large-lot development — something residents have identified as an attractive lifestyle option, particularly for retirees. Given the plethora of lakes and hiking, skiing and snowmobile trails on its doorstep, along with urban trails and attractions, Thompson is blessed with recreational assets, and Travel Manitoba is working on creating a place brand for Thompson to foster growth in the tourism industry. Recently, Thompson 2020 and the City of Thompson developed a community investment profile, which was presented to business leaders and potential investors during a two-day Economic Development Tour of the city in mid-November. Led by Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC) president and CEO Chuck Davidson, who hails from Snow Lake, a series of tours are scheduled in 2019 and 2020 as a component of the province's Look North strategy for northern economic development, including another stop in Thompson in April 2020. Davis says 25 potential investors took part in the initial tour to check out opportunities for establishing businesses in the city, and Thompson 2020 will be working with MCC to ensure there's followup. "I think there's a great opportunity just in terms of the regional market base that Thompson has," she says, noting the city known as the hub of the North has a market reach of more than 50,000 people in the surrounding areas. The investment profile also highlights Thompson's advantages in terms of natural resources, its young, skilled workforce and well-established partnerships with the Indigenous community. While the closure of Vale's smelter and refinery is a blow, the company continues to invest in the community, with a focus on mining and milling. The investment profile points to other key sectors, such as tourism and hospitality, health care, hydroelectricity, education and winter weather testing for everything from automobiles and snowmobiles to the jet engines that undergo testing at the local Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research site. Prior to the MCC-led tour, Thompson 2020 hosted two investment breakfasts, one in Winnipeg in July and another in Thompson in October, in an effort to dispel negative perceptions of the city's socio-economic viability. "The story about Thompson is not always positive and it's because people largely hear one side of the story, but there's actually great potential here for business to be established," Davis says. "And it's funny because when that (Winnipeg) breakfast ended, most people left with a different perception of Thompson and what the potential is here, so I think it was a success and we're still in dialog with a lot of the investors." While the project winds down in 2019, Davis says Thompson 2020 will continue to have impact. "The charge is to ensure that the work continues through the city's economic development officer and other local stakeholders (with whom) relationships have either been enhanced or established and who all have shared interest in ensuring that Thompson remains a community of opportunity for years to come." Focus on a bright future drives multi-faceted mission Given the plethora of lakes and hiking, skiing and snowmobile trails on its doorstep, along with urban trails and attractions, Thompson is blessed with recreational assets, and Travel Manitoba is working on creating a place brand for Thompson to foster growth in the tourism industry. Thompson 2020 Vision From top: An aerial view of the city; Vale's headframe is part of the landscape; opening ceremonies for the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games; francophone students have a dedicated facility, Ecole communautaire La Voie de Nord. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THOMPSON 2020

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