SUDBURY, ON – A Cochrane family, who for more than 70 years built up communities from Thunder Bay to Moosonee to New Liskeard, has made a historic investment in Northeastern Ontario’s healthcare. Marcel and Frances Labelle, pioneers of Canadian industry, announced a donation of $5 million towards HSN’s Innovation and Learning Centre.
Marcel established M. J. Labelle Co Ltd at the height of the Great Depression and World War II. The business would become one of the most successful civil engineering companies in Northern Ontario, constructing hundreds of miles of highways, building quarries and hauling more than three million cords of wood from the bush. The company employed hundreds of people across the north, bringing sewers, water mains and airstrips to dozens of northern communities through new construction projects.
“Marcel and Frances are proud to support the Innovation and Learning Centre which will ensure that northerners will be among the first to benefit from breakthrough techniques and treatment methods learned on site,” said Ehor Bobby, Director for the Marcel and Frances Labelle Foundation, as well as a long-time friend and associate. “They are particularly proud that doctors and other health care professionals will be trained here in the north.” With this gift, Marcel and Frances are hoping to inspire others to follow their lead and support healthcare in our region.
“In recognition of Marcel and Frances Labelle’s leadership, generosity, and dedication to learning, the HSN Board of Directors is proud to announce the naming of the Labelle Innovation and Learning Centre,” said HSN Board Chair Nicole Everest. She added this donation will help HSN in its mandate as the tertiary care centre for the region, while closing the gaps in the health care system in Northeastern Ontario. “This allows us to be even better positioned to recruit and retain some of the top talent in Canada, to care for the people of the north.”