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Nipawin developing economic and tourism committee

NIPAWIN — There is no rule book when it comes to dealing with COVID-19 but the Town of Nipawin is making their own rules to address issues that will not go away after the pandemic subsides.
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NIPAWIN — There is no rule book when it comes to dealing with COVID-19 but the Town of Nipawin is making their own rules to address issues that will not go away after the pandemic subsides.

About 20 organizations got together to form an interagency committee when COVID-19 first began to encourage communication across the community, said Rennie Harper, Nipawin’s mayor. What has come from that is the goal to create something more concrete, the Community Economic and Tourism Advisory Committee. The new committee will help the council understand the needs of the community, Harper said.

“We've always been looking for a vehicle that can help bring some advice from the voices of businesses in our community… [to] give us input about what's going on in the hospitality industry, what's going on in independent business [for example].”

While the committee has not been formed yet, Harper said the town and interested parties have already met to iron out the purpose, principles, and responsibilities that will help guide the committee, while Harper brought these terms to the town council during the April 27 council meeting.

“You do need a way to make sure that you get input from your business sector, not just the chamber but independent businesses and tourism and agriculture and all of those things.”

While the group is still in its infancy, Barry Elliott, Nipawin’s administrator, said he has already seen some successes.

“It's not without a tiny little bit of history now. They’ve done some things, had some dialogue that's really proved to be markedly important to the town.”

While the forming of the committee is still in the works and there are still some important decisions to be made first, Harper is hopeful that the group comes to fruition by the fall.