Caledon Countryside Alliance - Municipal Election Watch 2006

Municipal Election Watch - 2006

Replies to questions from the regional and area council candidates for Ward 2 listed in alphabetical order by last name:

Q3: Caledon's Economic Development Strategy appears to be similar to our neighbour's. It is also a stated objective to have more people live and work in Caledon. With the current stock of high priced housing, how does your Economic Development Strategy plan to attract firms with high paying jobs and fit with Caledon's image and reputation?

"Our economic development strategy should not automatically echo that of our neighbours because if we take the same approach we will end up with a similar mix of business and industry. I believe a conscious effort should be made to determine the types of businesses we want to attract that will support our long term goal of being a live/work community. First assess the skill set, education etc. of our residents and then proactively designate the types of businesses we wish to attract. Opportunities should be sought to provide meaningful work to the residents of Caledon rather than bring the businesses first and then providing sufficient housing for the necessary workforce. The more familiar approach to Economic Development does not permit the managed growth that we require."

"In my opinion, our Economic Development Strategy plan to attract businesses does fit with our image and reputation and it was a key focus of our last council to support more Economic Development within our community. If we want to keep Caledon green and pristine, we need to locally-control where economic development and growth will occur."

"There are many reasons why people and communities support “work-where-you-live” and it is a philosophy that each my wife and I already subscribe to and practice. During this campaign, and again in the 2003 campaign, there are already many people within our Ward 2 who also work out of their home offices. We need to find ways to make that stronger and more popular and it is coming. Business development was a key component of my 2003 election platform and was one of the areas of concern that I brought to the table for the brainstorming sessions, along with other members of council, and that became one of the key action items out of our Caledon Community Work Plan (CCWP)."

"But what Caledon does lack is the infrastructure to support them, i.e., access to high-speed Internet, and this deficit is putting our local businesses at a competitive disadvantage."

"This is not a question that can be easily answered in a few minutes or sentences. As a new councillor, much work is required to understand the Town’s current policies, approaches and detailed tax issues, along with who Caledon is competing against. However, at a high level, I believe it is necessary to create the proper incentives, atmosphere and partnership with perspective companies, as without these Caledon will not be successful in attracting the desired type of companies. While I am not advocating a specific municipality’s approach, Brampton and others have been very successful in drawing many large companies, including head offices, to their area. Therefore, a review of what they did right could certainly help Caledon determine their own approach – with the focus on Caledon’s image, reputation and desired type of companies."