BUSINESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES

Town Staff is here to Help

Smooth Rock Falls is business ready; it’s offering new businesses a variety of generous financial incentives including competitive tax incentives and program grants.

Smooth Rock Falls has a forward-thinking leadership team that is known for effective decision-making and we pride ourselves on our willingness to develop and try new ideas. When we developed our generous Community Improvement Plan, we considered all of the social, community and economic conditions required to make Smooth Rock Falls a vibrant and prosperous community.

Please contact Luc Denualt at the Town of Smooth Rock Falls at luc.denault@townsrf.ca or (705) 338-2717 ext. 9.


Financial Incentives

Smooth Rock Falls’ financial incentives are generous, varied and far-reaching and include both residential, commercial and industrial. Highlights include:

  • Land offered for up to 90 per cent below market value; serviced land in town and on the golf course can be purchased for $500
  • Enormous tax breaks for new homeowners over three years: 100 per cent the first year, 75 per cent the second year and 25 per cent the third year
  • Economic development incentives for business owners: loans or grants up to a maximum of 15 per cent of eligible costs, up to a maximum of a million dollars
  • Loan guarantees for residential and non-residential construction projects up to 50 per cent of construction costs: up to a maximum of $100,000 for residential and $500,000 for non-residential projects
  • A generous Tax Increment Grant Program for businesses, including: a 75 per cent rebate in year one, 50 per cent rebate in year two and 25 per cent rebate in year three

There are also several government funding programs that could be leveraged pending approval.  The Town municipal staff can help you determine which one or ones would be appropriate based on your needs and situation, and can help you some of the paperwork.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is a crown corporation and development agency of the Ontario government that invests in northern businesses and municipalities through conditional contributions, forgivable performance loans, incentive term loans and loan guarantees.
Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation

Ontario’s Rural Economic Development (RED) program helps rural communities remove barriers to community economic development. With the support of the program, rural communities are better positioned to attract investment, create jobs, enhance economic growth and make everyday life easier for rural Ontarians.
Ontario’s Rural Economic Development program, commonly known as RED


Statistics and Research

The Town of Smooth Rock Falls is here to help businesses and to provide existing and potential businesses the best possible information on Smooth Rock Falls and area. We have available, at no cost, up-to-date statistics on demographics, economic makeup, education/skill levels, infrastructure, situational analysis, etc. The Town has undertaken a number of strategies that identify investment opportunities in specific sectors:

Agriculture
Tourism
Foodservice
Mechanical and other technology
Forestry
Mining

These are areas where the economy is growing and are either export-based or providing products or services that are currently underserved in the region.


Starting or Expanding a Business

The Town of Smooth Rock Falls with the assistance of the Ministry of  Northern Development  & Mines  Business Consulting Services can help.

Small Business Enterprise Centres

Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBECs) focus on providing support to start-up and small enterprises during their first five years of operation. Entrepreneurs are provided with easy access to business consulting services and information covering management, marketing, technology and financing. The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) supports 7 SBECs in Northern Ontario.

What the Program Offers

Ministry staff provide information and advice in areas such as:

  • Strategic business planning
  • Sourcing new ideas, products and services
  • Adopting new technology to increase profits and reduce costs
  • Developing domestic and export markets
  • Business financing
  • Improving competitiveness
  • Managing growth
  • Accessing federal, provincial and municipal programs
  • Identifying emerging markets and development opportunities
  • Preparing business development strategies
  • Networking to enhance competitiveness and profitability

More Information

These services complement those of the Small Business Enterprise Centres which help new and recently established businesses.

For help in Smooth Rock Falls:

General Inquiry: (705) 360-2656
Toll Free: (877) 470-8332
Link: http://www.timminsedc.com/business/start-your-business/