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Wednesday, January 3, 2007
from the Manitoulin Expositor, by Michael Erskine
Manitoulin-It has
been a particularly successful year for
the LaCloche Manitoulin Business
Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC) and the
initiatives it has played an important
role in fostering. Both Manitoulin
Streams and Manitoulin Living projects
are taking up residence in the
Assiginack municipal offices this year
and both look to be great successes in
the years to come.
“This past year was our best ever for
loans to small business,” announced
LAMBAC Chair Gary Kessel in a release,
adding that as a FedNor-funded Community
Futures Development Corporation, over
$1.5 million has been invested in
small-and-medium-sized businesses
through the loan program in 2005-2006.
Through LAMBAC loans of up to $150,000
are made available to new or existing
businesses startups, expansion or
refinancing.
“Since its inception,” noted vice-chair
Austin Hunt, “LAMBAC has injected over
$17.5 million into the area economy. We
are proud that this investment has
created or saved more than 2,000 jobs
for local residents.”
The investment has not been simple
charity, however, as the track record of
loan repayment is outstanding. “The
LAMBAC investment fund is very healthy,”
noted FedNor program officer Stig
Puschel, “with loan loss ratio of only
3.3 percent. We are very pleased with
the good work LAMBAC board and staff are
doing in this region.”
In addition to the smaller fund, LAMBAC
joins with other northern development
corporations to allow for even larger
loans of up to $500,000. This year,
some 420 clients took advantage of the
free service.
This year, 14 small businesses were
started with the assistance of the
self-employment program offered through
Services Canada. That program allows
Employment Insurance eligible recipients
to draw benefits for up to one year
while they establish a new business.
“This program alone resulted in 21 new
jobs in our area,” said Business
Services Officer Louise McKeen.
“LAMBAC has seen a great deal of
economic development activity in the
region this past year, one indicator of
a healthy, active community life,” said
LAMBAC General Manager Mary Nelder.
There were over 19 community groups
which benefited from funding through
LAMBAC’s Local Initiatives Program
(LIP). The LIP program grants up to
$5,000 to municipalities and
not-for-profit groups to carry out
community-based activities.
Projects such as the Northeast Town’s
highly successful 2006 entertainment
program received assistance through this
plan, while Central Manitoulin's planned
welcome centre also got a boost. The
Assiginack Historical Society and the
Township of Billings also benefited from
the program, as did the Manitoulin
Tourism Association and the Manitoulin
Chamber of Commerce.
“The LIP program is a great example of
public funds, supplied by FedNor, at
work in the community supporting local
volunteer efforts,” said Mr. Hunt.
Ms. Nelder was particularly pleased with
the success of initiatives which grew
out of the 2000 to 2006 strategic plans
for the area, including the Manitoulin
Branding Association, the Manitoulin
Living marketing campaign. The
Manitoulin Streams rehabilitation
project, the LaCloche Tourism
Association, the LaCloche Manitoulin
Events Network and LaCloche Trails
Association.
“We are very pleased to have also
partnered on two developments that have
come to fruition this year,” said Mr.
Hunt. “The Island Waste Management
Study and the Manitoulin Business
Retention and Expansion project took
quite a while in the planning stages but
are now being gully implemented. We
look forward to seeing good results from
both of these studies.”
“There has been a lot of bad news in the
region over the past few months,
especially with the layoffs at DOMTAR,”
said Assiginack Reeve Les Fields, whose
community is hosting both Manitoulin
Streams and Manitoulin Living this
year. “It’s important that we, as
communities step forward to help
ourselves with these noteworthy
projects.”
“We are anxious to help the LaCloche /
Manitoulin communities capitalize on the
trend of a growing economy in this part
of Northern Ontario,” agreed Mr. Kessel.
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