A Sudbury man who was regarded as a driving force in the development and eventual global reach of Northern Ontario's mining supply and services sector has died.
After 20 years in education, DeStefano served as a commissioner with the Canadian Radio and Television Commission from 1980 to 1985, the federal government regulatory agency overseeing Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications. An extensive biography on DeStefano was written in 2019 by Norm Tollinsky, the founding editor of the Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal , on the occasion of DeStefano retiring from SAMSSA. DeStefano was a regular columnist for SMSJ.
“That first year, I had 56 one-on-one meetings with mining suppliers in the community. Most of them didn’t believe in the idea of working together to help build the industry. They wanted to know if joining an association would jeopardize their relationship with Inco and asked ‘Why would I want to export when I may not get paid?’”
By 2019, SAMSSA provides a wide range of programs and services that help its members grow their business. It organizes trade missions to stimulate export business, operates quarterly export club networking events, hosts incoming delegations of mining companies and promotes its members to a global mining marketplace through its website.