MoT says no move planned

Ken Johnston

The suggestion that Ontario Travel Information building will be moved back to its original location at the international bridge is being denied by both the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC).
Last Friday local manager Margaret Dubé said that ORC staff members told her that the building will be moved next year. “It was supposed to be moved last year but that was delayed when the election came,” said Dubé.
Ministry of Tourism spokesperson Gary Wheeler said that information is not true. “The centre is not moving this year and there are no plans to move it next year,” said Wheeler. However, Wheeler said he could not speculate on what the future might hold.
On Monday, Jeff Giffen, Community Liaison Officer with the ORC, said that they take their direction from the Ministry of Tourism and thus far they have been told there are no plans to move the building. “It is not our decision and in all fairness they (MoT) could be looking at different options.”
He said that ORC did have personnel in Rainy River last Friday but it was not to move the building. A property manager and a service provider were here to prepare the building for the upcoming tourism season. “That building is in winter mode now,” said Giffen.
Dubé also called the Record Monday saying that as far as she knows, “The move is not a done deal.”
The building is currently located at the Rainy River Heritage Square. It was moved there several years ago after intense lobbying efforts by the town council and chamber of commerce convinced the MoT to put it in the town’s central tourist attraction.
The Travel Information Centre is open from mid May to September every year and provides travel related information for the local region and the entire province. It is funded by the Ontario government.