110-year-old dock gets much-needed repairs A familiar structure in Callander is
finally getting a much-needed refurbishment.
Matching contributions totalling $1.4
million from the federal and provincial governments, and the
municipality, will be used to repair the government dock. The
L-shaped structure has been a part of the communit...
New Liskeard flooring, wall product hits box shelves Products manufactured in a nondescript
downtown New Liskeard building are being shipped across North
America.It’s not a secret, but some people
might be surprised to find that a brand of subfloor tiles and wall
panels originate in the community.OvrX Manufacturing produces the
Barricade basemen...
Weather postpones Elliot Lake mall development As March approached, everyone in Elliot Lake was eager to see the construction of the new shopping mall get started, but Mother Nature had other ideas in mind.J.I. Enterprises had to halt site
preparation after winter—longer and harsher than
anticipated—decided to stick around and throw a wrench ...
North Bay’s main arena undergoing renovation When the puck drops at the home opener
for the North Bay Battalion, Oct. 11, it will be in a new-looking Memorial Gardens.
A $12-million renovation project is
expected to get underway in early May, and will upgrade the
60-year-old facility by expanding its capacity.
The Ontario Hockey League...
Beardmore bridge contract awarded Dalcon Enterprises was awarded a
$4.4-million contract to replace the Blackwater River Bridge near
Beardmore in northwestern Ontario.The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines said the project, near the junction of Highways 11 and 580,
will create about 40 jobs.Work is scheduled to begin thi...
Round five of infrastructure funding announced The federal
government is accepting applications for the fifth round of the P3 Canada
program.P3 Canada helps
funds public infrastructure projects in communities across the country. PPP Canada's
focus in round five will be on public infrastructure projects that promote jobs
and stimulate econo...
A bridge building-palooza Spring is in the air and the Ontario
government is awarding contracts for bridge work across Northern
Ontario.East of Dryden, two construction
contracts have been awarded to replace three highway bridges on the
Trans-Canada Highway in northwestern Ontario.L.H. North has been awarded a
$5.2-mil...
Sturgeon Falls redevelops bay area A waterfront redevelopment project in
Sturgeon Falls is being touted as a means to enhance tourism and
stimulate the downtown core.The $10-million Minnehaha Bay project,
which is nearing completion, includes a 6,700-square-foot building,
new boat slips, a boardwalk and outdoor ampitheatre.“The ...
Atikokan showcases itself for new construction A slew of coming new industrial
development has the Town of Atikokan rolling out the welcome mat to
investors.
The sleepy northwestern Ontario town of
3,300 is making early preparations to host one of Canada's largest
open-pit gold mines.
The municipality has released an
accommodations stu...
Construction industry seeks skilled tradespeople Though Sudbury's construction industry
is expecting another busy year, its growth is tempered by looming
shortages of skilled tradespeople.“We are expanding constantly and it
will be another record year,” said Denis Shank, executive director
of the Sudbury Construction Association. “But we are ...
Manitoba starts construction of road network One of the biggest construction
projects in Manitoba's history is underway to build permanent roads
into that province's more remote communities.The province's East Side Road Authority
began construction of roads and bridges to create a permanent
all-season network which will cover more than 1,...
Manitoba company offering labour shortage solution Listen first.It's the core value at Running Deer Resources, a Manitoba-based mining construction and Aboriginal
consultation company that is changing the way industry interacts with
the Aboriginal workforce across Canada.For the last six years its president,
Jamie Saulnier, has been working to e...
Moonbeam invests nearly $1 million in Remi Lake Over the past six years, the
municipality of Moonbeam has been slowly expanding tourism
development along its local lake with upgrades to campsites and
services.This year will be no different.Nearly $1 million will be spent at Remi
Lake to improve roadwork, add three boat launches, rebuild a lo...
GRK Fasteners expands Canadian distribution A family-owned Thunder Bay fastener
company has landed a lucrative distribution contract with Home Depot
Canada.GRK Fasteners President Uli Walther
said the deal was made through its parent firm, ITW Canada, and
product is shipping immediately.ITW, also known as Illinois Tool Works,
is a diver...
Little Current welcoming development with new venture When a number of breaks in Little
Current's force main in the mid-2000s led to a series of boil water
advisories, the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands
(NEMI) knew upgrades were needed. Now, those improvements have
resulted in an economic development initiative that's injecting ne...
Hearst roadbuilder finishes Highway 11 repaving It took nearly eight months to finish, but improvements on Highway 11, west of Hearst, came to an end in November.More than 32 kilometres of road were repaved and improved during the process, with an addition of a new two-and-half kilometre westbound passing lane.Villeneuve Construction of Hearst w...
Moonbeam truss maker expands to meet demand Luc Bouchard can recall the various responses he received when he decided to leave a full-time position at a bank to open up a business that specializes in roof trusses.“People said that I was crazy and that I didn't know what I was doing,” said Bouchard, owner of Northern Truss in Moonbeam Townshi...
Kapuskasing working to upgrade airport and build new OPP detachment The Kapuskasing Airport will be getting a facelift.After applying for funding with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and FedNor for its Airport Capacity Project, the town of Kapuskasing will be receiving a total of $4.5 million.The Kapuskasing airport was transferred from the federal g...
Taking flight Construction is bustling at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport, where anchor tenant J.D. Aero Technical Inc. is undergoing a transformation that brings with it a promise of economic development, employment and tax revenue for the city. The company, which has the distinction of being the first business to...
Funds in place, short-line reconstruction begins Huron Central Railway president Mario Brault was a happy man in August.Two years after announcing that the rail carrier was dropping freight service in northeastern Ontario, he was talking with blue sky optimism about a profitable month of July with opportunities for building up volume.“We're open ...
Matachewan cautious on construction Matachewan is taking a cautious approach to anticipated growth as a result of the development of Northgate Minerals' Young-Davidson Mine.Reeve Beverly Hine said an influx of people is expected once the mine is in production. Work has begun on a subdivision with the installation of water and sewer l...
Kapuskasing reaps the benefits from power station rebuilds Kapuskasing’s Lower Mattagami project is not only the largest hydroelectric development project in the province, but one of the most expensive at $2.5 billion.Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is almost entirely reconstructing one existing dam at Smoky Falls and is upgrading three others in the surrou...
New hotel planned for Timmins A Timmins businessman doesn't expect some conditions imposed by city council will impede his plans to build a new hotel.Luc Sergerie, who owns The Carpet Man on Riverside Drive, wants to construct a new hotel on his property through a joint venture. Although the required zoning change from industri...
New airport building under construction The Red Lake airport terminal building is the first thing you enter after flying into the municipality, serving both as an introduction and farewell to the community.It’s because of that first and last impression the municipality ranks the construction of its new building an important one.“I think ...
Manitoulin waterfront project in progress The final stage of the multi-year, multi-million-dollar Little Current waterfront redevelopment is amongst the projects to benefit from a recent infusion of FedNor money in the North.The community, located in the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), received $400,000 from the fun...
Sault contractor puts safety policy into practice For 22 years, Mike Moore & Sons Construction have nurtured a deeply engrained culture of workplace safety.The Sault Ste. Marie general contractor's record and dedication to being the best in construction workplace safety has filled a trophy case full of local, provincial and national industry award...
Motel becomes first tenant in new Red Lake commercial park. Red Lake's highway commercial area has found a permanent tenant.Super 8 Motel is currently the only confirmed tenant for the 20-acre area, and has begun building for a late-fall grand opening.The 2.8 acre motel will give the 4,000 motorists who pass by the area daily an opportunity to rest at its l...
Housing bonanza hits a snag in Kirkland Lake After years of wishing for opportunities to grow its dwindling population, the City of Kirkland Lake is struggling to accommodate the thousands of people soon to be pounding on its doors.With low assessment values and limited finances, the municipality largely lacks the resources it needs to build ...
Thirst for power means big demand for powerline technicians, electricians The equation is simple: more demand for energy equals more equipment, infrastructure and human resources.“Everybody wants to be connected,” said Dean Gatien, vice-president of Powertel, a high-voltage electrical contracting specialist based in Whitefish.As technology evolves, so has the way in whic...
Wood works for North Bay hospital Evans Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture Inc. accomplished a lot of firsts as they brought the new North Bay Regional Health Centre to fruition.The long-standing North Bay firm has served the region for almost 55 years. Eighteen people work under five architects, three of whom are emeritus. Their c...
Industrial lands needed in Sudbury As the economic fortunes of the City of Greater Sudbury continue on the upswing, demand for the serviced industrial lands is putting pressure on supply and causing some concern in business circles. To help meet this rapidly growing demand, officials at the Greater Sudbury Airport are looking to cr...
First Nations community enjoys economic boost from modular homes The Wabaseemoong (Whitedog) Independent First Nations are enjoying an economic and employment boost brought on by the success of a joint venture with Kenora’s Moncrief Construction Ltd. to build modular homes.Operating under the banner of Wincrief Forest Products – a joint venture between Wabaseemo...
Matachewan gears up for gold mine construction The Township of Matachewan will be back in the gold mining business on Sept. 10 with the groundbreaking ceremonies at Northgate Minerals’ Young-Davidson Mine.With $375 million being spent over the next two years, it is easily the largest construction project in this northeastern Ontario community’s...
New retail, construction underway in Elliot Lake There is another visible sign of how much Elliot Lake’s economy has changed. A once-popular drinking hole of uranium miners – and one of the town’s original buildings – was demolished to make way for a drug store.The steel framework was going up this summer for an 18,500-square-foot Shopper’s Drug...
Elliot Lake upscales lakeside living with condo project Rhona Guertin likes to think of the next evolution of Elliot Lake Retirement Living as being in the "people importation" business. When the non-profit corporation unveils their marketing material for their upscale Spine Road condo development, the finance and business development manager suspects ...
Kirkland Lake to need 600 homes in six years: study With mining-related activity due to create as many as 1,000 new jobs, Kirkland Lake will need 100 new houses built every year for the next six years just to keep pace, according to an Ottawa-based consultant.This is sobering news for the booming town of 10,000, where strong gold prices are already ...
Sioux Lookout rebuilds the ‘Hub’ Sioux Lookout has always prided itself on being the "Hub of the North." Economic development officer Florence Bailey doesn’t want to change that moniker. Instead, she wants to find ways to enhance it.The northwestern Ontario community of 5,300 at the end of twisting Highway 72 has always made its ...
Building camps from Kandahar to Timmins The company in charge of operating the Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan is setting its sights on a decidedly less dangerous environment: mining in Northern Ontario. With plans to build and service multi-million-dollar mining camps throughout the region, Calgary-based ATCO Structures & Logistics Ltd...
ReadyQuip partners with First Nations The province’s new focus on enhancing business access to wood and biomass is keeping one Timmins heavy equipment sales and service firm hopeful it may provide a financial shot in the arm to the industry. Officials with ReadyQuip say that although business has been good through construction, mining ...
Provincial task force to examine construction safety A string of construction-related deaths in Toronto and Ottawa through the winter months have sparked the creation of a provincial task force to examine health and safety, providing industry with cautious hope future tragedies may be prevented. “It would be a double tragedy if the Ministry of Labour...
Another record-smashing year for North Bay home construction For the fourth straight year, the City of North Bay topped previous years with another all-time record for building permits. The value of permits issued by the city in 2009 hit a record of $92 million, which bested the 2008 record of $84.4 million. Institutional permits topped $25 million, commerc...
Timmins construction stays strong through 2009 The global economic downturn failed to make much of a dent on Timmins’ construction industry through 2009, which had another banner year. With $42.8 million in construction permits over the course of 2009, Timmins saw a “mild” drop from the previous year’s total of $51.6 million, with 476 permits ...
Steel maker on hiring blitz The North American steel industry may be in the dumper but that doesn’t mean jobs aren’t available. In Sault Ste. Marie, when jobs become available it doesn’t take long for word to circulate. Despite the steel plate maker’s boom-and-bust cycles, landing employment at the city’s largest private emp...
Renting and leasing through a recession Northern Ontario renting and leasing firms, which once catered to mining contractors had to find alternative markets through 2009, with flexible companies such as Money in Motion seeking ways to excel.Even amidst a recession, expansion plans are in the works for the 20-year-old company, which main...
Province comes through with business park funding The City of Thunder Bay has received the first installment of funds to expand infrastructure at Innova Park. Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has invested $1 million for the industrial park under its Infrastructure and Community Development Program to extend two roads. The project money is earmarked...
Doing the heavy lifting Robert Cohen counts 2009 as probably the toughest of his 27 years as president of Soo Foundry & Machine."Every sector was hit, there was no rock you could hide under."But learning to tread water in troubled economic seas is nothing new for this family-owned business in a city dominated by the peak...
Finding the light and space in design David Ellis has a great pastime for an architect: it’s cycling. It’s evident in design elements of his buildings that he wants to bring the outdoors, inside.The avid rider, custom bike maker and nationally-certified cycling coach is a true believer that for people to work better, they must have a ...
Wabi Development: focusing on flexibility Whether it’s helping staff to realize their goals of travelling or enabling them to better care for their families, flexibility is a priority for the Temiskaming Shores-based Wabi Development Corporation.With a broad range of tasks including project management, construction, maintenance, engineeri...
Three-H building furniture and family Keeping a tight-knit feel among a steadily growing workforce can be
a challenge, but it's one that officials at the Temiskaming
Shores-based Three-H Furniture Systems have embraced wholeheartedly
through nearly 40 years."Even with the number of employees we
have, it's like a family," says Patri...
North Bay construction juggernaut keeps “firing on all cylinders” Throughout his six years as Mayor of North Bay, Vic Fedeli hasn't been adverse to making blue sky predictions.The former marketing executive predicts 2010 will be one of the “greatest years in the city's history.” Check out the ongoing construction activity in the Gateway City and it certainly sho...
