THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay has renewed its sister city agreement with its oldest partner in the 44-year-old program.
Acting Mayor Linda Rydholm and Seinajoki, Finland Mayor Jorma Rasinmaki on Friday were joined by delegations from both communities at Thunder Bay city hall for an official signing ceremony to continue the partnership.
It’s an important agreement, Rydholm said, pointing to the shared culture and other similarities between the two cities.
“In many different ways this is an opportunity for us to meet further and talk further and see what we can learn from each other’s communities,” Rydholm said. “It’s pretty exciting because Seinajoki was our very first sister city in 1974 and here we are many years later talking and still learning.”
Rasinmaki said he sees plenty of value in continuing the friendship agreement, which has resulted mainly in the exchange of students, more so than business opportunities over its duration.
Rasinmaki said there’s plenty to learn from a city like Thunder Bay, which has dealt with cross-cultural issues, struggling at times, but also creating plenty of success stories.
Finland, as part of the European Union, hasn’t yet been hit hard by immigration, but the mayor expects to see more people moving to his community – located in the country’s southwest – as migrants make their way across the continent.
“People are moving from country to country and we should learn much more about what it means for basic living. That’s why it’s important we have these kinds of sister cities all over the world, and of course with English people in Canada,” Rasinmaki said.
He sees plenty of benefits to the agreement, particular when it comes to the trade-off students, who can move in both directions.
And of course he’s always on the lookout for new business opportunities for Seinajoki entrepreneurs.
“I think later on we hope we will get more business opportunities,” the mayor said.
Thunder Bay also has sister city agreements with Little Canada, Minn., Duluth and Gifu, Japan.
