It's early August and Helen Mulc has just taken over the reigns of the regional economic development branch of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.
Asked what some of her goals are in her new role as director and she concedes it may be a bit early to be stating her objectives.
“You'll have to give me a break on that one,” she laughs. “It's day number four.”
But as a lifelong Northerner who has spent close to two decades working in business and economic development, Mulc recognizes the importance of familiarizing herself with the issues facing the North before diving in.
“It's critically important that I get to the six area managers, and teams and offices (in Kenora, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timmins), and I need to understand better what their unique opportunities and challenges are,” Mulc says. “But ultimately I think we have a common goal — the goal of the ministry and the goal of the government — and that's a prosperous Northern Ontario.”
In Mulc, the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry has found a passionate advocate for the North, someone with a strong business acumen who not only makes her home in Northern Ontario, but has also made a career of fostering prosperity in business and economic development.
Growing up in North Bay before relocating to Sudbury to complete a commerce degree at Laurentian University, Mulc went on to manage a small business office before leading the creation of the Regional Business Centre in Sudbury.
More recently she served in the twin roles of director of economic development for the City of Greater Sudbury and director of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, where her responsibilities have included the planning, implementation and co-ordination of economic development activities, policies and programs for the city.
Mulc is currently completing her master's in business administration at Laurentian.
It was her role as vice-chair of Ontario's North Economic Development Corporation (ONEDC), however, that most prepared Mulc for her newest challenge. Representing the City of Greater Sudbury, Mulc worked alongside representatives from across the North on a number of pan-Northern initiatives, and it introduced her to the opportunities and challenges in other Northern communities.
“When this opportunity came forward, I felt it was just a natural extension of what I was doing in that volunteer capacity,” Mulc says. “It was a really neat opportunity because now I get to not only apply the skills and knowledge that I have, but also the great network I've developed with the five major cities. And I certainly look forward to doing outreach to many other communities across the North.”
Working at the provincial level will encompass a larger obligation, both in the geography she'll have to cover and the employees under her purview, but Mulc believes it will equip her with a broader sense of Northern Ontario.
The ministry's work is done from its six regional offices and an additional 20 smaller offices scattered throughout smaller communities across the North. Working with stakeholders such as municipalities and First Nations, institutions and businesses, “it is an incredibly important role that they play,” Mulc says.
She will be responsible for leading the team and directing the operation in those service areas and will work out of the ministry's Sudbury office.
Mulc views this new chapter of her career as a learning experience, with her focus on supporting the teams that implement the economic development programs throughout the North.
And her primary focus mirrors that of the ministry: to build a healthy, sustainable and competitive Northern Ontario.
“I just love Northern Ontario,” Mulc says, “and I think, far too often, people don't recognize the strength of the people here, the vastness of the resources, and the beauty and potential it has.”
