Ontario Chamber of Commerce delegates sew up quilt blocks for residential school survivors
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce hosted its Annual General Meeting and Convention this week in Timmins, Ont.
Around 100 delegates from throughout the province travelled to the city to take in some northern hospitality and set goals for the upcoming year.
One of the optional activities during the conference, held at Cedar Meadows Resort and Spa, was to create a square to be included in a quilt for a residential school survivor.
Founder of ‘Quilts for Survivors,’ Vanessa Genier was on hand with fabric, notions and sewing machines and taught interested delegates how to be part of a project that’s promoting truth and reconciliation.
“Once I have enough and I have several blocks now, I can probably make two tops, I'm going to start sewing them together and they'll be finished tops,” said Genier.
“Then I'll bring them to the studio and we'll pick them up and ship them off to a survivor.”
Ontario Chamber of Commerce officials said reconciliation with Indigenous peoples was one of its main agenda topics at this year’s gathering.
About 100 delegates from around the province travelled to Timmins, Ont., for its annual general meeting and convention at Cedar Meadows Resort and Spa. Quilts for Survivors founder Vanessa Genier (left) talks with Ontario Chamber of Commerce President Daniel Tisch (right) about her initiative. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Daniel Tisch, the chamber’s president and chief executive officer, told CTV News that the agenda for the northern Ontario meeting talks about some “pretty fundamental” things.
“We're talking about the development of the mining industry. We're talking about critical infrastructure and how we build better infrastructure to connect the, you know, minerals in the north to the manufacturing in the south of Ontario. We're talking about how to retrain, retain the brilliant talent that northern Ontario develops,” he said, on Friday.
“And – we're talking about reconciliation with Indigenous people, businesses, nations and communities. And those are probably the, I'd say, the four items that are highest in terms of the agenda that we have in the room today.”
The conference wraps up on April 27.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.