“Bridging our Communities” Reunions
Left to right: Terence McBride, Chief of Timiskaming First Nation, Chantal Théorêt, Director of Collège Boréal’s New Liskeard campus, Arnaud Warolin, Prefect of the Regional County Municipality of Témiscamingue, Jean-Claude Carrière, Community Project Officer at ACFO Temiskaming, and Carman Kidd, mayor of Temiskaming Shores
During my visit to the Temiskaming region of Northern Ontario last September, I discovered an excellent initiative called Tisser des liens entre nos communautés [Bridging our Communities]. I was made aware of the third dinner exchange under this collaborative project which seeks to enhance the relations between three communities of the Temiskaming region in the spirit of sustainable development. The three communities include Temiskaming Ontario, Témiscamingue québecois, and the First Nations of Timiskaming. These reunions of exchange and networking are the result of collaboration between four partners which include Jean-Claude Carrière, Community Project Officer at ACFO Témiskaming, and Chantal Théorêt, Director of Collège Boréal’s New Liskeard campus.
The Timiskaming First Nations community was the host of the evening of this third dinner exchange, which took place according to Algonquin traditions, with presentations to help members of the respective communities to get to know each other. In addition to acquainting everyone with traditional Algonquin food and dance, the discussions of the evening focused on undertaking joint projects such as a Regional First Nation Museum and a program on the regional history and culture of the First Nations.
On April 25th, the partners of this initiative met again for their fourth reunion which included the participation of mayors as well as businessmen and stakeholders from various disciplines. With around 50 attendees, the goal of this event was once again to discuss opportunities for collaborating on projects that would benefit all three communities, such as in the areas of agriculture, education, and tourism. The event concluded with a commitment to hold a fifth reunion in the near future.
Tisser des liens entre nos communautés is a very inspirational initiative, and the mutual desire and commitment to work together will in return aid in the positive development of all the involved parties. After all, Lake Timiskaming reunites all of them. I would like to see this initiative continue to prosper, and I am certain that the results of this project will be mutually beneficial for everyone. Lastly, it is a project that could inspire other Francophone communities across the province to thrive in the future.