By ANDREW WAREING
One voice can have an influence, but many voices together can have a real impact.
That is the reasoning behind an effort to unite northeastern Ontario’s chambers of commerce into one association, says Steve Kidd, president of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
Kidd, who recently took office of the Chamber for a constituted one-year term and is heading up the drive, says letters sent out to various chambers of commerce throughout northeastern Ontario have elicited some truly favourable responses to the idea.
“I’ve got letters from places I didn’t even know letters had gone to; places like Gogama and Folyet that seem to be
really excited about the idea of a Northeastern Ontario Association of Chambers of Commerce,” he says.
A meeting is planned 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., October 6 at the Quality Inn in Sudbury. The meeting is planned to discuss
the feasibility and priorities of an overall association similar to one serving northwestern Ontario chambers of
commerce.
Jim Thompson, chair of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, says there was a Northeastern Ontario Association of Chambers of Commerce several years ago but, for one reason or another, it faded into oblivion.
This latest effort shows signs of reviving this institution.
“It’s something that is going to take a real commitment from everyone,” says Thompson. “It’s going to take volunteers and members of boards of chambers to come together. There are a lot of northern issues that need to be addressed.”
Issues such as out-migration of the North’s youth, the need for more physicians and for a concerted effort toward increased economic development in northern communities. These are issues that are going to require a unified approach, says Kidd.
“There was a time when communities were very territorial and very competitive,” he says. “The thinking now is that we have to take a more regional approach. If something is good for Cochrane, it’s going to be good for Timmins, Sudbury or Espanola. We have enough common ground to work together.”
There will likely be some disagreements, Kidd adds, but these are things that can be worked through by talking
together.
It is a paradigm that has worked well for the Northwestern Ontario Chambers of Commerce (NOACC) who frequently mounts missions to Queen’s Park to meet with provincial officials to discuss issues affecting northwestern Ontario communities, he says.
Kidd welcomes the possibility of working with the NOACC to bring pan-northern issues to the fore.
“We’re going to share the same resources because we all are fighting the same battles,” says Thompson. “For many years, communities in Northern Ontario have viewed themselves as islands. Even though we deal with many of the same issues. It’s like that with the Ontario Hockey League. Community teams compete against one another and they battle hard. Some of that competitiveness has spilled over into the rest of the community.”
Kidd says he has only one year as chair of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce and he plans to make the most of it.
“This is something I want to get done in that year,” he says.
www.timminschamber.on.ca
www.sudburychamber.ca
www.noacc.com
