March 2009

Since 2001, the Coopérative du regroupement des organismes francophones de Thunder Bay Inc.(ROFTB) is the owner and manager of the building known as the Centre des Francophones located at 292 Court Street South in Thunder Bay. After the purchase of the building in December 2000, the ROFTB received financial support from FedNor to do major renovations and create a Francophone Centre. This new space would allow francophone agencies, groups and individuals to work together in order to grow as a community and also to develop programs and services that would, in turn, create jobs and serve the French speaking population of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario.

The last few years have seen a marked increase in the services, programs and activities offered to the francophone population in this region.  The demand surpasses the physical capacity of the Centre as well as that of other agencies. This growth has generated particular challenges by restricting the possibility of offering new programs and services due to the lack of space.

After several discussions, the members of the cooperative ROFTB have realized that the building is no longer adequate to respond to the needs.  While it is an important component of the success of the francophone community in Thunder Bay,  the physical limits of the Centre represent a major obstacle to the development of new services and programmes deemed necessary to the well-being of our community, as well as the job-creation such development would generate.

Recognizing that many options are possible to remediate the situation, the members of ROFTB presented a project to FedNor to carry out a feasibility study and a business plan in order to determine the best way to address and respond to the needs.