Tourism becomes vital economic driver for town. (Communities of the North: Atikokan).

The ongoing softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S. is threatening to have a direct impact on the small town of Atikokan, located 2,000 kilometres west of Thunder Bay and home to approximately 4,000 northerners.

"We are a little cautious about the softwood lumber dispute," says

Dennis Brown, mayor of Atikokan. "The longer it goes on, the more negative influence it will have on our community. Sixty-two per cent of our economy is based on the woods industry. We certainly need to have that industry continue on in a thriving manner."

Atikokan's primary employer, Atikokan Forest Products, employs about 250 people at its sawmill and planing mill. Since 1946, the mill has supplied markets in the Midwest U.S. and California with wood.

Fortunately for the town, its tourism and technology sectors are quickly improving and reducing the town's dependence on the forest industry.

"The community has been under a little bit of a refocus the last couple of years," says Warren Paulson, the town manager. "We are still primarily resource-based, always have been and probably always Will be, but tourism is becoming much stronger as an economic force in the community."

Brown also agrees that the town has shifted its focus towards tourism.

"There is an increase in tourism-related activities here," says Brown. "We are constantly working on that and trying to make use of Quetico Park. That is one of the things that assists tremendously in our tourism."

Quetico Provincial Park is an internationally renowned canoeing area of over 4,655 square kilometres. Located in the town's backyard, there are approximately 140,000 user-nights per year at the park. With Quetico

Provincial Park, Atikokan covers 9,000 square kilometres of lakes and wilderness.

Meanwhile, the town's technology sector is thriving as well, says Brown. In fact, Atikokan opened up a new call centre in August. Brown indicates that the call centre, which created 10 new positions with the potential to expand even more, is doing quite well. In addition, the mayor points out that the town implemented upgraded fibre optics, which allows for videoconferencing and cellular telephones.

However, Brown does indicate that the town is encountering a problem getting the fibre optics implemented throughout the community. He says they have implemented it up to Atikokan, but not yet throughout the entire town.

Consequently, the mayor says more-private-sector support is needed to solve the problem.

"If we have the proper fibre optics equipment here, people can sit here and do their jobs as well as they can in downtown Toronto, and that is very important."

Another new store, McLeod's Hardware, was set to open in on Nov. 12. The opening is expected to create two or three new jobs. Although that does not seem like very much, Brown believes any new jobs invigorate the town's citizens and give them hope for the future.

"It's only two or three jobs, but it projects an air of opportunity about Atikokan whenever there is a new facility opening up," he says.

"Atikokan has everything we need," he says. "We have it all. We have recreational facilities, we have a good health-care system, a good education system, and the infrastructure is here. We just have to work at maintaining it and upgrading it."

However, since becoming mayor five. years ago, Brown says he has encountered several obstacles.

"I think our greatest obstacle is that we need more people and more jobs to pay for the services we have," he says. "We are like a lot of communities of the North where the population is declining with the migration of youth. We need to reverse that somehow. We need meaningful jobs, good paying jobs, profitable jobs, but we just need more people."

During the late 1970s the town saw a lot of its citizens leave as a result of the closure of its two iron-ore mines. Today, it is home to over 250 businesses, many of them home-based.

Atikokan is also a haven for outdoor lovers. It offers 700 kilometres of groomed snowmobile trails and 30 kilometres of cross-country ski trails in the winter. Atikokan also has mountain bike trails and a golf course.

ATIKOKAN

Population                3,400

Main Employer/            Atikokan Forest Products
Private Sector

Top 5 Employers           Atikokan Forest Products, Proboard
                          Manufacturing, Fort Frances/Rainy
                          River District Board of Education,
                          Atikokan General Hospital, Ontario
                          Power Generation

Area of Community         9000 sq. km

Municipal Tax Rates       commercial occupied-0.05155564
(base average)            industrial occupied-0.04845341

Commercial real estate    not available
market: what is it like?

Land Values               not available

Industrial Park           serviced industrial mall, space
(serviced or unserviced)  available