Timmins

A 12-week entrepreneurship program for Aboriginal youth in Timmins has given them the tools and confidence to contemplate starting their own businesses.

Businesses wanting to establish a presence in Timmins' west end will now pay a development charge to offset the costs of recent infrastructure upgrades in the area.

Vicky d'Amours has some basic advice for aspiring bakers wanting to open their own business – make sure you are a morning person. “A lot of mornings you come in at three, especially at busy times like Christmas,” she said.

Like its neighbouring communities, Black River-Matheson is reaping the benefits of a booming mining industry, but is feeling the pinch of a housing shortage. “There certainly is a need for more housing,” said Mayor Mike Milinkovitch.

While a report on the Shania Twain Centre (STC) in Timmins suggests spending more money on the revenue-losing attraction, a Timmins city councillor wants another option – closure – to be considered.

Timmins sisters Louise and Lise Cantin started their restaurant business with only a desire to work for themselves – and two tables and four chairs.

It is expected the flow-through funding program will be extended once more when the federal government introduces its budget.

Xstrata's Kidd Metallurgical Site in Timmins is coming down. Built in 1980 and shuttered in early 2010, the last smelter to be built in Canada was initially slated to be razed late this spring.

Goldcorp Inc. is just months away from making a production decision to dig up the literal “heart of gold” a stone’s throw from downtown Timmins.

Though the price of gold is providing it with a financial shot in the arm, the City of Timmins still continues to look for ways to cope with the closure of Xstrata’s Kidd Metallurgical Site a year after it was first announced.