NWT - The NWT's French business association has begun work on the first phase of a multi-year project aimed at providing business services for new immigrants as well as attracting new business and investment to the territory.

The project, dubbed the Investment Attraction Strategy, recently received a $40,000 investment from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

The Conseil de developpement economique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest is developing a website with the GNWT geared to foreign businesses or investors interested in making a mark in the NWT. Pictured here are CDETNO staff working out of Yellowknife. Front, from left, Rejean LeFort, Sylvie Francoeur and Francoise Blanchard. Back, from left, Vanessa Casanovas Michel, Doug Craig, Anne-Christine Boudreau and Valerie Gamache. - photo courtesy of CDETNO

The money will go towards creating, in partnership with the GNWT, a one-stop website for foreigners looking to start a business in the North, said Sylvie Francoeur, executive director of the Conseil de developpement economique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest - CDETNO for short.

Last year, CDETNO hired a consultant, Vanessa Casanovas Michel of Montreal, to create a five-stage plan.

"When we did the study, we went out and met with a whole bunch of other economic development organizations, aboriginal groups, the territorial government," said Francoeur. "We had a lot of support. Phase one is about confirming that and (determining) what each of the partners would be able to bring to that table and how we can work together with them to make sure that once an investor or a businessperson does call in and is interested in the NWT, then we know who does what, and we don't give him the runaround.

"The ultimate goal is to increase the number of businesspeople and investors in the NWT."

The idea behind the website is to assemble information currently spread out between several sources.

"During the first phase of the study, we found out that a lot of the information that exists in the NWT is dispersed and is held by different players in the industry, and it can take a long time to answer an investor's interest," said Francoeur.

"Our goal is not to translate everything that exists, because we don't have those resources. Our goal will be to service the French requests and act, if need be, as an interpreter to help a possible investor or businessperson interpret and translate the information."

Information on the site will be specifically tailored to Quebec or French audience, said Casanovas Michel.

For businesses originating from France, for instance, CDETNO will include information about commercial agreements between Canada and the European Union.

"For Quebec, we were thinking about the possibility of putting information about the taxation (system in the NWT) because it's different, you know? Quebec is a really special province in Canada for (things like) taxation," said Casanovas Michel.

"Of course, there are land claims with aboriginal groups. It's something really specific to the Northwest Territories. It's important for all the markets, not only French, (to know about)."

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