Language and culture define West Nipissing’s identity. Over 60% of residents claim French as their first language, while approximately 19% identify as Indigenous, including members of the nearby Nipissing First Nation whose ancestors, the N’Biissing people, were the area’s original inhabitants. This cultural mix creates what Mayor Rochon describes as “a mix of people and cultures that really add a kind of interest and spark to what we do here.” Many families and retirees are drawn to West Nipissing for its lively Francophone culture, strong sense of community, and access to year-round outdoor lifestyle. HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE IN TWO LANGUAGES West Nipissing’s healthcare infrastructure supports Northern Ontario’s medical services. The West Nipissing General Hospital, community health center, and 160-bed municipally owned long-term care home anchor the municipality’s position as a regional service center. All three facilities operate in French and English, addressing a critical gap in francophone healthcare accessibility across the province. “We’re also very fortunate that we have some excellent public infrastructure,” Mayor Rochon notes. “All of our services, our hospitals, our health centers, and our long-term care home offer services in French, which is really important in this region where you have such a high number of francophone residents.” Recruitment remains an ongoing challenge, particularly given the municipality’s focus on bilingual staffing. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury provides a pipeline of potential physicians, many of whom grew up in the north and want to practice there. “We find that the students that are attending medical training there a lot of times are from the north and therefore interested in staying in the north,” Mayor Rochon explains. The municipality works closely with its physician recruitment committee to attract healthcare professionals across the spectrum, from personal support workers to specialists. Housing availability compounds recruitment difficulties.“You can bring people into the community, but you need to have somewhere for them to live,” the mayor acknowledges.“We all know that housing has become a challenge across the country as well.” The municipality addresses this through planned senior housing developments and infrastructure improvements designed to support residential growth. DOWNTOWN WHERE ART MEETS COMMERCE West Nipissing’s downtown core defies the narrative of dying main streets plaguing many small Canadian municipalities.“We’ve been fortunate to keep a lot of good local retailers in our downtown core that offer 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07 WEST NIPISSING, ON
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