NOHFC funding urban Innovation Centres to study maximizing benefits using ICTs
Ontario News Release
Putting Technology To Best Use In The North - McGuinty Government Supports Study To Identify Economic Opportunities
April 24, 2009
A new study will help businesses, communities and residents in Northern Ontario maximize the benefits of using information communications technology (ICT).
The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre in Thunder Bay, in partnership with the Innovation Centre in Sault Ste. Marie and the Northeastern Ontario Communications Network in Timmins, will identify how the use of ICT can potentially unlock social and economic benefits in northern communities.
The research project will involve local government, public sector stakeholders from health and education, First Nations, ICT product and service companies, telecommunications providers, small and medium-sized businesses as well as northern residents.
QUOTES
- “We recognize that businesses, academic institutions and community groups in Sault Ste. Marie must take advantage of information communications technology to compete with other jurisdictions in the global economy. This investment will help our community identify and take advantage of emerging opportunities to drive our economy in the future.”
- David Orazietti, MPP for Sault Ste. Marie.
- “Major investments by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) in telecommunications infrastructure in recent years are helping address service gaps in remote and rural areas. This project takes the next step to determine the best use of that infrastructure to strengthen the economy.”
- Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Chair of the NOHFC.
QUICK FACTS
- Through its Community Infrastructure Program, the NOHFC is investing $42,500 in the study.
- Since January 2007, the NOHFC has invested more than $30 million in some 18 projects to support Northern Ontario’s ICT sector.
- Ontario is North America’s second largest employer in the ICT sector, behind California.
LEARN MORE
- About the NOHFC’s Emerging Technology Program
- About Ontario’s commitment to driving the next generation of digital, information and communications technologies
Anne-Marie Flanagan, Minister’s Office, 416-327-0655
Michel Lavoie, Communications Branch, 705-564-7125
ontario.ca/north-news