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Chamber of Commerce sees continued growth Fort Simpson businesses look North
to opportunities in the Sahtu
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, June 20, 2013
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
The Fort Simpson Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to another year of growth, including the development of a new business directory for the area and promoting businesses for work in the Sahtu.
The chamber held its annual general meeting on June 8 in the village. Approximately 26 people attended the meeting and dinner the chamber held following a golf tournament.
This will definitely be another building year for the chamber, said Angela Fiebelkorn, who was acclaimed to her second term as the chamber's president.
Last year, the chamber increased the size of its membership and board with seven people volunteering to serve on the board. During the annual general meeting, 10 people were elected to the board including Lindsay Waugh, the returning vice-president, Lois Martin as secretary, and Kirby Groat as treasurer. It's the first time in a number of years the chamber has had a full board, said Fiebelkorn.
Visitors' guide axed in favour of directory
The chamber also has some projects planned for the year ahead. Instead of a Fort Simpson visitors' guide, this year the organization is creating a business directory.
"Mostly what we want to do is promote the businesses," she said.
The intended audience for the directory, which is approximately 50 per cent completed, are companies working in gas and oil in the Sahtu. Business in the village has increased in the past year because of the gas and oil play north of us, said Fiebelkorn. The chamber wants to promote local companies to see if they can get a piece of the millions that are being spent in the Sahtu, she added.
The chamber would like to see services and goods for the oil and gas exploration transported out of Fort Simpson as much as possible.
"Whatever Norman Wells can't supply, we can," she said.
Oil and gas activity in the Sahtu was also the topic of a speech given by Mike Mageean, the keynote speaker at the annual general meeting.
"In a nutshell, the Sahtu is booming," said Mageean, the regional superintendent of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI).
In its preliminary estimates, the department says between $100 to 125 million in capital expenditures was spent on exploration this past winter in the Sahtu. Approximately 60 to 70 per cent of the expenditures went to Sahtu- and NWT-based businesses and joint ventures.
"The Deh Cho region stands to benefit significantly from expanded oil and gas development and exploration," he said.
In addition to promoting local businesses for potential work in the Sahtu, the chamber also plans to hold a strategic planning meeting in the fall to set some goals for the organization, said Fiebelkorn.
The chamber successfully completed two campaigns last year. The first was lobbying NorthwesTel to request the company extend cellphone coverage around Fort Simpson. The lack of coverage at the airport and ferry was a concern because those are locations where problems can occur, she said.
The company did extend its services, although Fiebelkorn admits that might have been part of their original plans.
The chamber also lobbied for the territorial government to hold a community meeting on the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link Project in the village. A meeting was subsequently held on Feb. 21.
"We want to make sure we're staying in the loop of things," said Fiebelkorn.
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