Nanaimo will build a vision for economic development, but byelection candidates have a few ideas of their own.
A new city councillor will take a seat at the council table this summer at a time when the city is putting together its new economic development office.
City council made the decision to shutter the arms-length Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation last year and will replace it with a committee that will help create a new economic development strategy. While the city determines its direction for economic development, council will decide how to resource its new in-house office. Amrit Manhas, economic development officer, told the News Bulletin she’s working on a business case for three to four staff positions and will ask for a higher level of service for the 2018-2022 financial plan.
Sheryl Armstrong, byelection candidate, has concerns about how NEDC was disbanded, saying that the rationale behind it was never really heard. It did some very good things and had “excellent” board members, said Armstrong, and if there was an issue with the corporation, she wants to know what was done to work with the board to fix it.
The city has to have an economic development corporation, she said, and she suggests going back to the model but having a city councillor and city planner on the board.
Armstrong sees proper governance spurring economic development in the short term.
“When you have a choice to bring your business, where do you want to bring your business to? A community that people think is running very well or one that all your people are saying is dysfunctional, which is what you read,” she said.
Candidate Jim Mercier does not think enough is being done around economic development. His concern is when economic development is internalized in the city, there’s not the experience, diversity or the contacts to adequately do it and that it requires a partnership.
“Realistically what we need to do is let the private sector lead in economic development,” he said. “I mean, that’s where your true experience is just by the nature of the beast.”
One challenge the city often has, he said, is there’s no power in the word ‘yes’ but there is a lot of power in the word ‘no.’ He said there needs to be a change to a ‘yes’ philosophy, a need to fast-track partnership and focus on putting economic development back in the game.
In the short-term, he said he’d like to see a lot of focus on the downtown core, Terminal Avenue to Nicol Street and the Departure Bay walkway built out. He said he has a plan to get 100-per cent engagement among Cilaire property owners, though he isn’t prepared to share it yet.
Al Thompson, candidate, also doesn’t think the city is doing near enough to create development because it’s not creating jobs. People work, they get paid, they spend more money and everybody in the town does better, he said.
He’d like to see the city recycle and burn its garbage, which he said will create hundreds of jobs. He said the plant could also create steam so Nanaimo could make electricity and it could also be used to heat greenhouses to grow our own food.
“It’s a Brunie Brunie thing on this one,” he said, referring to another candidates’ idea. “We can have massive greenhouses all powered from this steam from burning our garbage.
“We have to create employment. Maybe we should have more grow shows like Tilray.”
The role the city could play in economic development is to lead by putting people to work, he said, suggesting hiring more garbagemen and road maintenance crews.
Brunie Brunie said the best thing for the local economy that can be done right now is to grow food. The city owns a lot of property, she said, and can call for investors. All the technology is there to do “really high-tech, super greenhouses,” she said, adding it would create a lot of jobs.
“We’ll have better food, cheaper,” she said. “When you think of the whole civilization that imports their food, off Island when they can grow it right here, it’s just not a very smart move.”
She also talked about increasing jobs, taking the cars out of one area downtown where people can come from the waterfront to the Old City Quarter with places to sit, things can be grown, there can be a lot more little vendors. It would be a thriving downtown tourists can really enjoy, she said.
“It’ll be a really happy place that will increase the whole economic development in the downtown and tie Nanaimo together in a happy public downtown space.”
This is the third in a three-part series on political issues in the community and views of byelection candidates. For previous articles, visit www.nanaimobulletin.com/tag/byelection2017.
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