ARI pledges funds to support housing study

Local Confidence is a Timmins 2020 initiative that aims to share the good things happening in Timmins through one-on-one interviews with various members of the community. For more information about the series, including links to all the interviews, click here.

ARI pledges funds to support housing study

In April 2013, Timmins 2020 announced that Attawapiskat Resources Inc. (ARI) has pledged a contribution to support to completion of a housing study. Read the press release here. Bob Dickson, Chief Executive Officer for ARI, answered a few questions to share reasons why ARI has decided to get involved in the housing project.

1. What issues or concerns are you aware of regarding housing in Timmins?
The key issue for Attawapiskat Resources Inc., is that members of our community or of other First Nations communities along the James Bay Coast will have accessible and affordable housing if they move to Timmins. This also applies to employees of Attawapiskat First Nations-owned businesses in Timmins whose employees (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) live and raise their families there.

2. Why is housing important for the success of organizations in Timmins?
Building on the point in the first question, in addition to affordability and quality-of-life for Aboriginal people and families in Timmins, housing is one of the most critical requirements for someone to be able to secure a job in the first place. A person has to have an ongoing living situation, with an address to include in job applications, etc., in order for potential employers to be able to contact him/her. Employers will be looking for such stability on the part of applicants, to be willing to invest in hiring them. Once hired, people really need the structure of being responsible for their surroundings (whether rented or owned), their schedule, their work ethic, etc., if they are to be good employees. This creates a stake for them, a personal investment in being a contributing employee and community member. For us, therefore, employment prospects and retention are directly tied to the housing issue.

3. When it comes to housing, what progress do you hope Timmins will make between now and 2020?
ARI hopes that the implementation of the housing study will provide all stakeholders with solid information on which we can plan and make decisions. Specific progress by 2020 will depend, in part, on the outcomes of the study.

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