Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/612378
6 WINNIpEG FREE pRESS, SATuRDAY DECEMBER 5, 2015 C I T Y O F T H O M P S O N RecruitingforCo-opGeneralManagers,AssistantManagers, Relief Managers, Cooks, Hotel/Cook Managers and other variousrolesinHomeOffice(Winnipeg,MB) Visitourwebsiteforallopenpositions: www.arctic.coop Pleasesendyourresumeto: HumanResources@Arctic.Coop Orfaxto:1-204-632-8575 McDONALDLAWOFFICE PLEASEVISITOURWEBSITE www.mcdonaldlaw.ca FAMILYLAW PERSONALINJURYLAW FREEINITIALCONSULTATION 204-927-3900 TOLLFREE:1-800-393-1110 EMAIL:mcdonaldlaw@shaw.ca 258TacheAvenue,Wpg,MBR2H1Z9 WANLESSMB-POBox2400THEPASMBR9A1M2 Cell 204-623-0744 Res 204-682-7516 Shop 204-682-7510 Fax 204-682-7410 Sand Graveland6&8AxleLowbedding PFUND TRUCKING PeterPfund–Owner email:PfundTrucking@hotmail.com TimJohnston MANAGER P.O.Box1208,3StationRoad,Thompson,ManitobaR8N1P1 TEL2046771492 TEL18883032232 FAX2047785672 EMAILtdj@northcentraldevelopment.ca WEBnorthcentraldevelopment.ca NorthCentralDevelopment GrowingCommunitiesoneideaatatime 363CrossleyAve.,ThePas,MB R9A1L3 (204)623-6469 MondaytoSaturday 9:00amto10:00pm Sunday Noonto5:00pm Coloncancer screeningsaveslives. SUPPORTED BY Doyouexperience: Persistent,senselessworry? Unexplainedracingheart? Difficultysleeping? Fatigue? "Wired"ortensefeelings? Extremeshyness? Wecanhelp. Call204-925-0600 or1(800)805-8885 www.adam.mb.ca F enske and city manager Gary Ceppetelli are members of the Thompson Economic Diversification Working Group (TEDWG), a broad initiative launched in 2011 to acceler- ate the city's development as a regional service centre after mining giant Vale announced plans to close its refinery and smelter. Led by the City of Thompson, the group includes Vale, Thompson unlimited, the province, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the Keewatin Tribal Council, university College of the North (uCN) and many other interest groups. TEDWG's education plan has created opportunities for northern youth to develop skills in high-paying trades as carpenters, plumbers, welders, heavy duty mechanics, and electricians needed for Manitoba Hydro and infrastructure projects. Just last week, the province announced it's partnering with the Mystery Lake School Division and uCN to build a 19,500-square- foot Industry Skills and Trades Training Centre near R.D. parker Collegiate and the uCN campus to accommodate 126 post-secondary and apprentice students and up to 60 high school students. Construction is underway on the $7 million Hope North: Recovery Centre for Youth, next to the new Addictions Foundation of Manitoba residential treatment facility. Moreover, a restorative justice program has been established to keep offenders with sentences of less than two years within the community. "until recently, incarcerated people were sent to southern Manitoba to serve their jail terms. The result was that they were three times more likely to re-offend when released. Restorative justice allows them to remain in the North where they have their family units around them for support. As a result, the recidivism rate has fallen dramatically," Fenske says. With help from the Manitoba government, TEDWG also aids commercial fishers and commercial forestry operations, which have remained steady economic producers during bust and boom times in the mining industry. Looking to the future, the Lions Club is planning a new $7.3 million seniors' housing facility. project manager Curtis Ross says phase I of the cooperative, which he expects to be completed by 2017, will include 30 two-bedroom and 10 one- bedroom units. Fenske says multi-family dwellings and smaller houses are on the agenda to accommodate an influx of Filipino and East Indian workers who moved to Thompson as part of a plan to boost employment in the service industry. "I've never seen such hardworking people. They've really helped our retail sector to thrive," said Fenske. Recreational opportunities range from fishing and canoeing to snowmobiling, golfing and hiking, and the city is well known for its scenic Spirit Way and Millennium trails, the Heritage North Museum and annual events like Thompson Nickel Days. Thompson unlimited, the organization responsible for organizing the construction of the $60 million Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research (GLACIER) has undergone a board change and will expand in the next few years. The co- operative venture is used to test such things as ice accumulation in jet engines as well as the performance of buses and other automobiles in cold weather. The Thompson Airport is the second busiest in Manitoba, serving more than 35 towns and villages, and preliminary plans are in the works for an expansion. And nickel mining is not over. A sustained market with nickel selling for $7 or more would make it feasible for Vale to tap a rich vein of ore in an area called 1-D. "Once a viable technique to extract nickel and other metals in 1-D is agreed upon, about 1,500 miners and related workers could be hired," Fenske says. Estimates indicate there are 10 million tonnes of nickel, copper and precious metals present, enough to extend the mine's life by 15 to 20 years. "This is welcome news," says Fenske, "but the new mine likely won't be in operation until 2018." The City of Thompson's diversification plans are making progress in the Hub of the North. "Nowadays you can't survive as a single-industry town. Thompson has been synonymous with nickel mining since 1956 and it's time to expand our economy," says Mayor Dennis Fenske. By David Square For the Winnipeg Free Press Expanding Horizons diversity drives Thompson's future wiTh help from The maniToba GovernmenT, TedwG also aids commercial fishers and commercial foresTry operaTions, which have remained sTeady economic producers durinG busT and boom Times in The mininG indusTry.