60TH PARALLEL
On June 2, Ken and Judy Schwieber - tourists from Toledo, Ohio - crossed the Alberta/NWT border on Highway 1 and happened upon the grand opening of the new 60th Parallel Visitor Information Centre.

And, they liked what they saw.

"It's beautiful," said Ken Schwieber. "It's really unexpected. We had no idea that this was going to be here."

His wife was also impressed with the new centre.

"This is absolutely beautiful, and the facilities are very nice for travellers who are weary and need a good place to use the washroom and clean up," she said.

Judy also noted the new NWT welcoming area on Highway 1 compares very favourably with others she has seen elsewhere.

"It's probably much better," she said.

The GNWT has spent about $1 million to build the new visitor information centre and improve the grounds around the building, along with an additional $150,000 for a new welcoming sign nearby at the border.

The improvements basically involved a near total reconstruction of the site, which is part of the 60th Parallel Territorial Park and Visitor Centre.

Along with the new building and sign, the interpretive displays, playground, trail, bison statue and manager's residence are also new.

Next, there will be minor renovations on existing washrooms and groundwork will be finished.

"We'll be done in a month from now," said Tom Colosimo, manager of tourism and parks in the South Slave region with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

One of the very few items remaining from the old centre is a large stuffed polar bear.

The centre, which will operate during the tourist season from mid-May to mid-September, actually opened for visitors last year while work continued on displays inside.

The official opening of the information centre brought out two territorial ministers, along with some regional mayors, government officials and other dignitaries.

One guest was Ruby Landry, council manager of Ka'a'gee First Nation in Kakisa.

"It's spectacular," Landry said of the new visitor information centre. "It's a beautiful building."

Bob McLeod, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, is very pleased with the improvements.

"As the old saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression," he said.

The previous visitor information centre and welcoming sign were pretty well worn out, he noted. "It was time for a new, re-energized sign and facilities."

Both the old visitor information centre and sign dated back to the 1960s.

McLeod said the new visitor information centre is part of the GNWT's commitment to tourism and seeing the benefits distributed across the Northwest Territories.

Tourism infuses about $111 million annually into the NWT economy, he noted. "We feel that tourism has enormous potential, and potential to be in all 33 of our communities in the Northwest Territories."

Michael McLeod, minister of Public Works and Services and the Deh Cho MLA, also said the new centre will make a good first impression on visitors.

"It's a very nice building," he said. "It's a building that has taken some time to put together. It's a facility that we recognized for many years that needed to be built and we also needed to replace the sign."

Michael McLeod pointed out the building is also environmentally friendly, noting it has 12 solar panels, for example.

"I think it's a building that we'll be proud of for the long haul," he said.

Chief Roy Fabian of K'atlodeeche First Nation welcomed the new centre, which is located on the band's traditional lands.

"I realize how important it is just being able to welcome people to the North in a good way," said Fabian, who worked at the old centre for two years. "I think this is a beautiful building and it's going to do a good job."

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