Conference sans borders.

Kirkland Lake -- There are no boundaries between the town of Kirkland Lake and the city of Rouyn-Noranda as The Association of Francophone Municipalities of Ontario (AFMO) gears up for their 16th annual conference.

Shared between the two provinces Sept. 13-16, the Conference Without Frontiers: Common Challenges, will be held two days in Kirkland Lake at Northern College (13th and 14th) and two days in Rouyn-Noranda at the Convention Centre (15th and 16th) in simultaneous translation.

AFMO was created in 1989 in conjunction with six other municipalities to maintain and improve the management and delivery of municipal programs in both official languages, according to the association.

Funded by the federal, Quebec and Ontario governments, as well as through partnerships with the private sector, approximately 350 delegates from all levels of government, and the business sector will be attending says Rejean Nadeau, the association's executive director.

The four-day conference's focus will be on issues that are of mutual concern for both communities such as economic diversification, issues around communication with a southern provincial government, the environment and youth retention, says the City of Kirkland Lake's project manager, Wilfred Hass.

"We have challenges that are more common on an east-west basis than say a north-south basis," he says.

The 12 workshops offered will be on economic development and community sustainability, natural resources, the environment, transportation, law enforcement, culture, heritage and the French language.

Some of the cross-border issues will concern attracting more tourism (winter and summer) to the region.

"It's important to leave the conference better equipped with tools and what works in other jurisdictions," Nadeau says, "so that upon returning to our respective municipalities, there is the feasibility of adapting what already works instead of starting at point zero."

As two nearby communities which happen to have a provincial border running between, Hass says they have had an historic relationship with Rouyn-Noranda pertaining to cross border visits for shopping and hockey events.

"It became more formalized about four years ago when the two communities came together for cross-promotion of tourism under the umbrella of one visit, two cultures," he says.

Consequently, it seemed a natural progression to come together and host a cross-border function with AFMO.

Currently, the two communities co-ordinate special events such as snowmobiling, and dog-sled and drag races.

"It's been done quietly, but it definitely has to be grown," Hass says. "We want to establish a tourism portal to make this region (Kirkland Lake) more attractive to Quebec tourists."

While opportunities abound for brainstorming and networking between the cultures and cities, there will be a keynote address, and some much-needed entertainment will be provided by Golden Helmets, an OPP motorcycle show.

www.afmo2005.ca

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business