BIG GRASSY RIVER – A big grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation will fund an array of renovations to Big Grassy River First Nation’s community centre.
The NOHFC is supplying $500,000 for renovations that include replacing outdoor siding, roof shingles and windows, and upgrades to the community centre’s HVAC and lighting.
The grant enables Big Grassy River to bring a vital community hub “to a certain standard for health and safety,” Chief Lynn Indian said Friday.
The community centre “is used for all of our gatherings, for our cultural gatherings, our ceremonies,” she said.
“And so the retrofit project is definitely a much needed project.”
The First Nation is considering contractors for this project, she said.
The community centre renos aren’t the only Big Grassy River project getting a boost from the NOHFC.
Kenora MPP and Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford also announced a Heritage Fund grant of $160,000 to Big Grassy River for improvements to Pegamigaabo School’s playground.
The grants to Big Grassy River were among a spate of grant announcements made this week by Rickford, who on the same day announced NOHFC grants to Titan Manufacturing in Devlin ($499,980) for business expansion and Anishinaabeg of Naongashiing First Nation ($375,000) for improvements to its Pow Wow grounds.
