Economic Development Summit Attracts Wide Interest
June 12, 2009

At the recent Economic Development Summit Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville presented a cheque for $2.7 million for the three Community Futures Development Corporations serving the United Counties. Left to right are: Pat McGahey, Chairperson, Grenville CFDC; Gord Brown; June Timmons, Chairperson, Valley Heartland CFDC and Tom Russell, Executive Director, 1000 Islands CDC.

North Grenville - June 12, 2009 – Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, says he was excited about the enthusiastic response to his Economic Development Summit today. Over 200 people participated in the day long event held in North Grenville.

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (UCLG), in cooperation with Brown and MPP Bob Runciman held a highly the successful “Economic Development Summit” at the North Grenville Municipal Centre. The one day event was a kick-off to a future series of seven sector roundtable sessions and attracted engaged participants from across the region with identifying future development opportunities in three strategic economic corridors across the UCLG.

“This summit was well attended by participants from across the United Counties of Leeds & Grenville and has set the foundation for a collaborative dialogue around the future direction for economic development across the region,” said Brown.

“It was a refreshing sign of just how much interest there is across the region with where we are going in the future with our economic development planning,” he added.

The kick-off event included a keynote address by the Honourable John Baird, the Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, a presentation from the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus on the Broadband Initiative and funding announcements by area Brown.

The event initiated a series of seven sector round table events that area scheduled from October through April 2010 to chart out an implementation plan for future economic development initiatives across the region.  The seven sector panel areas of concentration will include: Manufacturing, Transportation/Logistics, Tourism Development, Agriculture, Bio-Products/Green Technology, Education/Training, and Small Business/BIA/Chambers.

Participants at the day-long seminar also suggested holding sessions for youth and for non-profit organizations. These are being considered to add to the agenda.

“This Summit provided a very exciting opportunity for us to reflect on the past efforts of the Beatty-Runciman Round Tables and begin to pursue new strategies for targeting key sectors and future development opportunities as we move forward,” said Runciman. “I look forward to working with everyone as we attempt to tackle the present economic conditions and chart the course for economic development across Leeds and Grenville as we move ahead,” he said.

“The United Counties of Leeds & Grenville is very pleased with the turnout at this event and we appreciate the support we have had from everyone, especially the financial support we received from our area Community Futures Development Corporations,” said Bob Cheetham, Manager of Economic Development for the UCLG.

The Summit was funded by the United Counties of Leeds & Grenville in partnership with the 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation, Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation and the Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation.

“Without the generous support of our federal development corporations this event could not have taken place,” Cheetham said.

“The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is pleased to be able to provide leadership and the resources towards developing greater collaboration among all communities across the region,” said Warden Mel Campbell. “This is just the first initiative of many that we hope will translate into tangible outcomes as we plan the direction of our economic development activities,” he said.
For more photos from this announcement, please click here.

Notes for an address by Gord Brown to the opening session of the Leeds-Grenville Economic Summit – June 12, 2009

Good morning everyone. It is great to be here in North Grenville this morning. I am pleased to see such a great turn out today. 

Interest has far exceeded our expectations.  I am sure your time will be rewarding and I thank all of you for taking time from your busy schedules to participate with us.

We are here to take steps toward preparing us to meet the future.  The riding of Leeds and Grenville has been blessed with a strong economic base with many assests.

But things are changing and as we have seen over the past 10 months almost anything can happen and it can happen quickly. We need to be ready to face threats and take advantage of opportunities.

As this current recession ends, and there are signs that its worst impacts are behind us, we will need to be ready to face new economic realities.
Back in January I held a public meeting on the budget and the comments I received at that meeting and also by email and by regular mail, led me to believe that it was time to once again hold an economic development roundtable in the riding.

I looked back to the Beatty-Runciman roundtables that were held 10 years ago. I had the opportunity to participate in them and determined that this was an excellent model to use.

After talking with Bob Runciman, we both agreed that it was time to do it again so we enlisted the help of the Leeds-Grenville Economic Development Department and the three Community Futures Development Corporations that serve Leeds-Grenville.

All enthusiastically agreed to help out and I must say I am pleased with the co-operation and the speed at which this event was organized.

There were many positive results for our communities coming out of the Runciman Beatty effort. One of our goals this time is to once again help people connect, communicate and to ensure we are all working together to maximize the use of our resources.

We are holding a one-day session here today and then beginning in the fall, we will host a series of monthly meetings directed at individual sectors of the economy such as, industry, agriculture, tourism, education and training, bio-technology and retail.

These meetings will take place in different communities throughout the riding and will be advertised in advance.

In Leeds-Grenville we have an enviable record on economic development. We have a strong spirit of cooperation and dedicated people who work daily to make better the economic situation right here in Leeds and Grenville.

We have the resources available, through the county’s economic development department, as well as municipal resources and departments and we have the three CFDCs all working locally to enhance our economy

I know I spend a great deal of my time working on economic development issues from funding for the CFDCs and the Eastern Ontario Development Program, to gas tax funding, to infrastructure funding.

So far our government has delivered for Leeds and Grenville, with even more to come. I am proud of my success in lobbying and advocating on your behalf.

All these programs and the money that they bring provide growth, development and help pave the way to a better future.
   
Now we have an opportunity to take a look at where we are and what we need to continue to grow in the future.

It is my belief that Leeds-Grenville is in a good position to take advantage of potential growth in a number of areas.

As an example of how we can work together we can look at the Canada Winter Games.

In 2010 Brockville will host the Canada senior games. The committee working on this has been developing winter senior games in the area for a number of years. Each step they take brings bigger results.

At the end of the day, this means more business and more opportunities.

Holding the one day summit and then the sectoral meetings next fall and winter will help those involved with economic development to define where to best place their resources as well as helping each group review their challenges and opportunities.

Economic development is best accomplished on the ground here in the riding using local people with local knowledge.

That is why I am such a strong proponent of the CDC model of economic development.
This model clearly reflects community priorities, determined by local citizens.

This series of meetings will help increase that base of knowledge so that we can even more effectively focus our efforts.

Before I wrap up I am currently seeking input on whether or not to ask the Government of Canada to consider changing the name of the St. Lawrence Islands National Park to the Thousand Islands National Park. 

Recently I saw one of the Parks Canada ads on TV promoting Canada’s national parks. The park was featured prominently with a little girl actually talking on the shoreline.

The ad did say SLINP, however that park could be anywhere from Kingston to Newfoundland.

So I am seeking your guidance on whether or not to promote this change. 

Thank you all again for being here today, I look forward to the day’s deliberations and I hope all of you will remain involved in this process over the coming year as we all work to make our economy in Leeds and Grenville even better.


Notes for an address by Gord Brown to renew funding for three Community Futures Development Corporations – June 12, 2009

Hello again

I’d like to begin by recognizing all of the volunteers in our region who work with our Community Futures Development Corporations.  You are also striving to achieve greater economic opportunities for our communities and you do a tremendous job every day.

So a big thank you is due to the volunteer Board members and staff of the Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation, the 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation and the Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation who are doing such a great job on behalf of the businesses, residents and communities of this region

  • These local organizations provide an invaluable service: 
  • They provide support for community-based initiatives;
  • They help businesses get that first start; and  
  • They encourage local entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and our government understands that encouraging small business owners and building the capacity of our rural communities are key elements to strengthening Canada's economy, and our country.

This is especially important during a global economic slowdown and that is why we have put Canada’s Economic Action Plan in motion.

Our Plan is a clear and decisive response to the economic challenges facing Canada, designed to stimulate our economy and protect Canadians.

Just last month we announced $500 million nationally over two years in support of the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program (RInC) to support the upgrading and renewal of recreational facilities.

Ontario communities are experiencing the effects of the global recession maybe more so than any other region in Canada.  That is why we created the $1 billion Community Adjustment Fund.

A two year initiative, the Fund will help accelerate job creation and assist resource and manufacturing-dependent communities with their economic diversification.

This initiative is needed in Ontario and available – now. Close to $350 million is accessible to Ontario communities to further develop their economies and create jobs.

And of course you know about the announcements we have made for infrastructure funding last week and back in February.

And specifically for this region, our Government recently announced an investment of $20 million to support the renewal of the Eastern Ontario Development Program for an additional two years.

These initiatives, introduced in the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, have a singular goal – to address the short-term impacts of the global economic downturn on communities across Canada, while strengthening our nation for when we emerge from this tough period.

Of course, another vital tool in our government’s efforts to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of Canadians here in Eastern Ontario and across the country is the Community Futures program.

Clearly, the three CFDCs serving this region – Grenville, 1000 Islands and Valley Heartland – are having a positive impact.

Their collective efforts within the communities they serve help entrepreneurs and small businesses start, grow, and create jobs and opportunity.

On behalf of my federal colleague, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, I’m pleased to announce a Government of Canada investment of $2.7 million in the three Community Futures Development Corporations.

This represents an investment of $900,000 over three years in each of the Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation, the 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation, and the Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation.  

This funding, will be used to support the ongoing operations of each CFDC for another three years.

In closing, let me acknowledge once again the dedication and commitment of the volunteer Board members and staff of the Grenville, 1000 Islands and Valley Heartland CFDCs.

Here’s to your continued success.

Thank you.
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