ayor Rob Burton proclaimed the beginning of economic recovery to Oakville's business community in an act of defiance against what some have called a self-imposed recession.
Burton made the announcement at the presentation of the Town's new economic development strategy to the Chamber of Commerce last Friday morning at the Holiday Inn on Argus Road.
"Here and there, the signs of recovery are appearing and they're interesting," said Burton. "As a matter of fact, some people say that we declared ourselves into this recession so maybe what I should do is declare the beginning of recovery here this morning."
In order to perpetuate the economic rebound, Council's economic development strategy focuses on maintaining and further developing established businesses, forging new business relationships beyond the town's borders and building on Oakville's strengths.
The Mayor said in his speech that Town Hall has pledged to open the lines of communication between its Councillors and the business community in order to aid businesses in navigating government regulations to encourage further development.
Also, Council's creation of the economic development department last year has unlocked a user-friendly access to information at Town Hall for Oakville's business community.
On the international stage, a delegation from Neyagawa, Japan, Oakville's sister city, will be coming to ring in the 25th anniversary of the union this July.
Burton said that Oakville should build on this relationship in order to open up Asian markets to Oakville businesses.
The Mayor didn't come right out and say he was actively pursuing another sister city, but he did say that Neyagawa had set a good example by solidifying another alliance with a city just outside of Shanghai, China.
"Fifteen years ago, they created a sister city relationship with a place called Lu Wan," said Burton. "You can see Lu Wan is in relation to Shanghai, the worlds largest city, as Oakville is to the GTA."
He went on to say that over the next 20 years, China will be embarking on a number of extensive projects including skyscrapers, mass transit systems and road building.
"We have business knowhow that they want and value," said Burton, "so I ask the business community today, who wants to be next? And I ask who wants to be left behind?"
Oakville's position in the centre of a life sciences corridor that stretches between two research hubs in Toronto and Hamilton is an advantage that is being explored.
"If we can get a piece of the life sciences development action in Ontario by providing a location for mid-sized companies to set up their facilities," said Burton. "By identifying this goal now we can assure the land is developed appropriately."
To further attract the life sciences industry, the town is developing a district energy plan for a life sciences centre located around the new hospital being built at Third Line and Dundas.
Another strength that Oakville is hoping to cash in on is Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.
They have rightfully earned an international reputation in the digital media and animation industry.
"It makes sense for the town to explore how this expertise can be leveraged with a view to building related business opportunities here in Oakville," said Burton.
The Town will consider in its plan the creation of an international hub for digital media and animation.
A significant component of the Town's strategy is its 770 hectares of vacant employment lands. The goal of the Town is to lure the most valuable development possible.
"Office development attracts an average of $85,000 per hectare of taxes to the town as opposed to only $33,000 per hectare for industrial warehousing," said Burton. "Office development also offers better jobs than warehousing; they pay more. This type of development may take longer to attract but this council is prepared to wait because the end result better reflects the need of our community for well-paid jobs.
"We are finding that there's a good market for office development in Oakville. In 2008 there was approximately 275,000 square feet of office space leased in Oakville and 90 per cent of that activity can be attributed to new head leases versus renewals."
Burton said the draft of Oakville's economic strategy will go to Council in April and he invited input from the business community.
He concluded, "I believe that if we work together and apply our imagination and our creativity, there is no direction ahead of us except onward and upward."
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Positive Market News
The facts and figures are showing a steady improvement in Canada's economy with retail sales and auto sales on the rise.
Statistics Canada reported an 1.9 per cent increase in retail sales in January. In addition to this, the auto sector saw a rise of 5.5 per cent in the sale of new motor vehicles in January.
Specifically, the sales of North American-built cars was up 3.5 per cent.
Source: Statistics Canada
