June 10, 2004
In the fall of 2000, discussions between seven Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) in Northeastern Ontario and seven Sociétés d’aide au développement des collectivités (SADCs) in Northwestern Québec began on the creation of a Regional Dialogue. Regional Dialogue would serve to provide a forum for each of the partners to learn about the economic challenges, opportunities and plans of action taking place on both sides of the border.
The discussions were born out of the realization that while each community may belong to one province or another, there were striking similarities in the type of projects and initiatives taking place. Paula Mangotich, Manager of Kirkland Lake and District CFDC says, “Once the group of us sat down and started talking, we found that we had an incredible amount of things in common. All of us were struggling with the same economic challenges and looking down very similar avenues to boost our local economies. We soon realized that if we put our heads together on a regular basis, we could learn from one another and develop stronger solutions to our challenges. The reality is that in many cases, we have more in common with our neighbors across the border than with some of the people living in our own province.”
Regional Dialogue is a forum to exchange ideas and opportunities between two provincial regions. The economies of both Northeastern Ontario and Northwestern Québec have developed around natural resources, notably forestry, mining and agriculture, and more recently tourism. Participants in Regional Dialogue have already made great progress combining their efforts to capitalize on Eco-Tourism, the coordination of ATV trails, promoting Lake Temiskaming, confronting youth migration, and more. Each item is being pursued and monitored closely.
Over the years, organizations from both regions had successfully undertaken joint projects such as Naturalia and La Fore Gourmande. Regional Dialogue just seemed to be a natural next step. Paula Mangotich says, “When we get together, it’s a learning exercise. Not only does the group have a lot of fun learning more about each other’s cultures, we sit down and look seriously at pooling our efforts to make our communities stronger. The chances are that what works in Témiskamingue Québec, will work in Timiskaming, Ontario. Working together is so much stronger than working in isolation.”
The first Regional Dialogue was held in February 2003 and the second in October 2003. Plans are underway to hold a third meeting in the fall of 2004. FedNor and Développement Economique Canada provide funding for the initiative.