“Through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, our government is providing financial assistance to the private sector to help bring new jobs and economic prosperity to the North,” states Minister Michael Gravelle.
The Ontario Government announced NOHFC funding for several Northwestern Ontario businesses and organizations today. The Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Thunder Bay Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro are pleased to share the news.
“Our investments are creating jobs for budding entrepreneurs and young interns, and further diversifying the Thunder Bay area economy. I am very pleased that the NOHFC could support these six ventures as they build their businesses and contribute to the prosperity of our region,” stated Bill Mauro, MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan.
The Ontario Government is supporting six local businesses through approved funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) Programs.
Receiving grants through NOHFC’s Northern Ontario Entrepreneur Program are:
Dental Hygiene Smiles
Kuhl Lighting
The Dog Classroom
Receiving grants through NOHFC’s Northern Ontario Youth Internship & Co-op Program are:
Veressent Life, Fonso Chiropractic Professional Corporation
Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce
Confederation College of Applied Arts & Technology
NOHFC has approved funding in the amount of $125,000 to allow Dental Hygiene Smiles to open a dental hygiene clinic in Thunder Bay, which will create 3 full-time jobs, and provide comprehensive dental hygiene care to patients of all ages.
A grant in the amount of $27,100 was received from NOHFC by Kuhl Lighting of Thunder Bay, to establish a lighting showroom – supplying residential and commercial light fixtures to the general public and businesses in Thunder Bay and surrounding communities. This project will create 2 full-time and 3 part-time jobs.
The Dog Classroom has received $6,000 from NOHFC to establish a dog training and behavioural consultation service which promotes dog-friendly training methods using positive reinforcement. The business will be based in Thunder Bay and will service this market, as well as the surrounding area.
Veressent Life is a health and wellness facility servicing northwestern Ontario with state-of-the-art chiropractic, healing, disease prevention, health optimization and holistic health community education. NOHFC has approved funding in the amount of $19,000 to allow Veressent Life, Fonso Chiropractic Professional Corporation to hire a Community Relations, Human Resource, and Marketing Intern who will assist in co-coordinating events, seminars, retreats and workshops within the community and the region, as well as help in co-coordinating fundraising events.
NOHFC has approved funding in the amount of $27,500 for Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce (NOACC) to hire an Activities Coordinator Intern who will work with partner organizations to coordinate the Northwestern Ontario Regional Conference (September 2013) and the programming for the Annual Meeting in April 2014. The intern will also be assisting with the coordination of the Mining Services and Supply Association for Northwestern Ontario.
Confederation College of Applied Arts & Technology will receive $27,500 to hire a Student Conversion Intern who will assist to develop, plan and deliver conversion strategies surrounding a variety of potential students, including pre-high school, high school, aboriginal, and mature learners. A key market will be leads generated through the recently developed social media platform.
“In opening this community dental hygiene clinic, this funding has allowed for the purchase of two ‘Lisa B sterilizers’. These steam-sterilizers are also accessible to mobile dental hygienists providing them with an option to reprocess their dental instruments here. Some mobile dental hygienists travel to provide care for clients who have mobility concerns that prevent them from accessing clinics easily. I would like to thank the NOHFC and provincial government for their support of this business venture,” shared Gail Marion, Owner & Dental Hygienist, Dental Hygiene Smiles.
“The support of the NOHFC internship program is vital to NOACC’s efforts on behalf of over 2,000 businesses across the Northwest. This individual will be a vital resource for numerous projects that aim to enhance business development and growth in our region,” commented Michael Nitz, President of Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce (NOACC).
