The official opening of the North Bay Canada Place will be celebrated at the waterfront on Canada Day Monday.
The project was initiated by the Heritage Gardeners as a way of celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary and ties into the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan (DWMP) by enhancing the waterfront’s public art and creating new centres of activity.
It sits on Memorial Drive, across from the pedestrian underpass, and overlooks Lake Nipissing.
Canada 150 occurred in 2017 as the country marked the sesquicentennial of the Canadian Confederation.
The project has had its fair share of controversy as members of City Council initially felt the price tag was too steep for the City to shoulder.
Coun. Gary Gardiner said last year that while he appreciated the group's contributions to the community, he felt their nearly $250,000 waterfront project was too rich for his blood and is bound to cost the City of North Bay additional money to maintain.
"When we look at our capital budget, the Main Street reconstruction project, for example, is $2 million over budget," said Gardiner. "We have pressures on our capital budget, and that is the main reason I will not be supporting this."
See: Canada Place project gets lukewarm reception at council level
Council and Gardiner later relented on the $250,000 waterfront attraction and unanimously approved the much-discussed project.
See: $250K Canada Place project gains council approval
And: City's share to move forward with Canada Place project is $194K
Mayor Peter Chirico will be joined by Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota, members of the Heritage Gardeners, representatives of Nipissing First Nation and other guests to celebrate at 10:30 Monday morning.
The weather is expected to be sunny and warm.
The North Bay Canada Place features an accessible pathway, a large maple leaf design integrated into the paving stones, and two flag poles, one of which will permanently display the Nipissing First Nation flag.
