Around the North

The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce recognized the city's best entrepreneurs at its 17th annual Business Awards, April 16. Activation Laboratories and Janzen's Pharmacy shared the Commitment to Quality Awards.

Quadra FNX plans to sink a shaft at its Victoria project next year which contains more than 3.4 million pounds of nickel, copper and other metals.

Gore Bay business Manitoulin Transport has acquired the portion of Penner International based in Manitoba, which offers less-than-truckload (LTL) transport services across North AmericaThe company made the announcement on April 19, noting that Penner

Brazilian-owned mining company Vale has agreed to cede a portion of its land rights near Willisville Mountain, following a campaign by area residents to prevent mining of the mountain.

A Wikwemikong company has accepted a wood supply offer from the province of Ontario of 7,000 cubic metres per year of cedar.

The McGuinty government dumped almost $3 million into Cochrane as the northeastern Ontario town prepares to be the host community for the new Detour Gold mine.

Kitchener road builder E. & E. Seegmiller landed a $6.4-million contract to repave a section of the Trans-Canada Highway on the north shore of Lake Superior. The work involves surfacing a 28-kilometre stretch of Highway 17, east of Terrace Bay.

Bill Vrebosch, mayor of the Municipality of East Ferris, has been elected as chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA). Elections took place at the annual joint convention of ROMA and the Ontario Good Roads Assoociation (OGRA) in March.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy says the Ontario government's legislation to modernize Crown forest tenure is another example of a unilaterial decision made in Queen's Park that disrespects Aboriginal people.

A new report by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) shows that succcessful First Nations business owners in Canada are growing in numbers.