It’s been a long time coming, but Chief Steve Miller said a light industrial business park will open its doors in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek (Whitefish Lake First Nation) in spring 2017.
“I was part of the committee at the beginning and it’s taken about 15 years with a lot of red tape, but right now the city of Sudbury supports it, the community supports it, other First Nations support it,” said Miller.
The business park was first discussed in 2000, but in 2008 it took off.
The design was completed in 2009, and encompasses 18 lots, which average three acres each. The park received significant interest from businesses to lease the lots, but Miller said they realized that they would need to have jurisdiction over their 44,000 acres of reserve land for the project to be feasible.
In 2010, by a community vote, Atikameksheng Anishnawkek signed onto the First Nations Land Management Act, which exempted them from the Indian Act and gave them control over their own laws, regulations and any leases in the business park.
“Until we initiated our own land codes through the Land Management Act, we couldn’t start moving forward,” said Miller. A feasibility study came shortly after with promising results.
“When the feasibility study was done in 2010, everything gave us a green light to build because of the location,” said Miller. Just 20 minutes outside of Sudbury, the business park is across the highway from the railway and a five-minute drive from the Walden industrial park.
Letters of intent followed in 2012 and 2013, with mining and construction companies voicing interest in the spaces.
“We plan on training and setting up our own partnerships with other businesses, the manufacturing industry, and developing the office rental space,” said Miller. He said the business park will create jobs, provide stability and income for families in the area, and host unique training opportunities as well.
The business plan was approved by chief and council this spring, and Miller said they’ve submitted funding applications to FedNor, and to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and have meetings with several ministers in the next couple months. The project is estimated to cost approximately $5.5 million.
Miller is not perturbed by the current downturn and said they’re positioned well for the future.
“Right now the economic situation isn’t the best, but what comes around goes around and if we’re prepared to introduce the industrial park with the proper buildings, I’m sure they’ll be looking for those spaces,” said Miller.
