Biotech firm garners FedNor support.FedNor has announced funding of $1.4 million to assist a cutting-edge biotechnology company in Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. and provide funds for the development of a new industrial park on local First Nations land. In late September, Andy Mitchell Andy Mitchell may refer to:
"The development of this technology has the potential to revolutionize the battle against cancer on a global scale," says Mitchell. "Creating a biotechnology enterprise in Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it is important to the region and complements the establishment of Thunder Bay as a regional health sciences centre." The company has also received funding of $133,000 from the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program, says Robert Thayer, chief executive officer and vice-president of business development for Genesis Genomics. Thayer says the financial support from the federal government is a very significant milestone for his company. He also praised the efforts of people in the community to work together. "Things like Genesis Genomics can happen here in Thunder Bay," he said, added that he hopes the existence and progress of his company will eliminate the notion that Thunder Bay is not a place for a biotechnology company. Mitchell says the company, along with the new Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, set to open next year, and the establishment of the northern medical school in the future "will create the synergy needed to advance an emerging bio-tech cluster in northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. ." Fort William First Nation Fort William First Nation is an Ojibwa community adjacent to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It has a citizen-based not-for-profit environmental group called Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami. also received a cheque in the amount of $515,932. Of the total, $450,000 will be used for an environmental cleanup on land previously owned by Canadian National Railway Canadian National Railway, rail system in Canada and the United States, extending from coast to coast in Canada with many branch lines in each province and in the United States. , which was returned to the First Nation in 1999. The site remediation will pave the way for a new industrial park and sawmill sawmill, installation or facility in which cut logs are sawed into standard-sized boards and timbers. The saws used in such an installation are generally of three types: the circular saw, which consists of a disk with teeth around its edge; the band saw, which . Also, $65,932 will be applied towards an entrepreneurial training program. "By assisting the Fort William First Nation with this environmental cleanup, the Government of Canada The Government of Canada is the federal government of Canada. The powers and structure of the federal government are set out in the Constitution of Canada. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" (or "federal government") refers broadly to the cabinet of the day and is contributing to infrastructure that is essential to economic development, starting with the new Bowater sawmill, in this community," said Mitchell. Fort William First Nation has signed a 10-year agreement with Bowater who will become the anchor tenant in the 225-hectare industrial park with the construction of the new sawmill. "It is estimated that over 150 new jobs can be created and that hopefully 30 percent will be First Nations jobs," says Mitchell. "Beyond the direct jobs, this is an important economic development initiative for Fort William First Nations since it has the rights to any secondary manufacturing of the sawmill's products." In order to encourage entrepreneurship, Fort William First Nation has started a community equity investment fund to provide startup funding for business development. The First Nations's entrepreneurial training program will consist of a series of online, self-taught computer-based modules to provide business plan blueprints. "We are grateful for this announcement as we would not be able to proceed with these projects without FedNor assistance," said Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins. |
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