Chamber View
The Chamber View is a column that appears bi-weekly in the London Free Press
March 28 2011 -- Follow the Plan...Strategically Please!
In my last column I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fantasy piece about what I thought London might or should look like in the year 2025. I was surprised at how many emails and tweets I received from individuals who shared that vision and encouraged immediate action to make it (the fantasy) happen.
One could argue that a number of things are now underway that could accomplish, in part at least, what we fantasy seekers are looking for. The recent wrap up to the Mayor's Economic Council (MEC) meeting contained many suggestions including but not limited to how to improve the core, increase our capacity along the 401/402 corridor, fix our downtown parking dilemma, and embrace the arts as an economic generator. Add to this the enhancement of our research and hospital facilities and our outstanding post-secondary institutions and you could argue that London could indeed realize all of those fantasies and more.
The trick in all of this will be to start with a clear and universal vision of what we want our city to be in 2025 and 2050. In other words we need the long-awaited, often referred to but never materialized Strategic Plan from which ALL other plans must hang. Done correctly, a Strategic Plan forces you to co-ordinate all other plans including, the Downtown Master Plan, the London Transit Plan, the Master Parking Plan for the Core, the Growth Boundaries Plan, The Transportation Master Plan, and every other darn plan that comes along including of course the annual operations and budget plans of the City. These plans must all sing to each other and when sung from the same song sheet...voila, a masterpiece!
As it is now, many, if not most of these plans are disconnected from each other making it extremely difficult to achieve any kind of efficiency or shared vision for the City. I, for one, am optimistic that the MEC's report will contain a very strong recommendation for the development of this much-needed City of London Strategic Plan. Perhaps then, and only then we can begin to move this City in the direction we need to in order to achieve our full potential as one of Canada's great cities.
Hopefully the Mayor's call for a downtown stakeholder's meeting will also adopt this same type of all- inclusive philosophy.
Incidentally, with respect to the recently announced Strategic Plan for the Western Fair Association, I know this group very well and I know its CEO, Hugh Mitchell very well too. This is an organization that has its act together and over that last decade or so has turned the sleepy old Western Fair grounds into one of the most dynamic and versatile powerhouse entertainment complexes in the country. Much of this was achieved in partnership with the City of London. That the Western Fair Board is now looking to expand their horizons would be cause for applause in most circles. The mere fact that they indeed have a plan gets my hands clapping right out of the gate.
My suggestion to appease the naysayers -- let's relax and wait until they (the Western Fair) have actually completed the plan beyond its draft stage and then in the words of our Mayor, their plan will build on the City's plans - not compete with it. Bravo to that!
On the election fronts, is it just me or do things seem unusually quiet out of both the McGuinty and Hudak camps? I do have it right don't I? There is a provincial election this fall isn't there? Just sayin'.
And on the federal scene, you can expect the rhetoric to hit full stride soon as all parties are jockeying for positions and of course your votes. Will it be a nasty affair with all sides slinging mud in all directions? I wouldn't want to speculate on that but I do believe I will haul out my Teflon suit for the remainder of the election season. Again...just sayin'.
March 14 2011 -- London 2025
Forecasting is never a precise science especially when it comes to the future. Truer words were never spoken. But, in spite of that sage old warning I do find myself wondering, aloud sometimes, what London might look like in the year 2025. Fourteen years seems a long way off but a lot can happen. And if I'm wrong maybe I'll be lucky enough to eat my words. Then again I may be fortunate enough to see some of this vision for 2025 come true.
So here, captured in my little fantasy drive into and through London, is a glimpse of what I see London looking like in 2025...
I have just pulled off the Forest City Expressway (code for ring road), and am proceeding into downtown London just passed the Wonderland Extension to the 401. It does my heart good to see all of the new industry that has sprouted up along the 401/402 and now the Expressway too. The Expressway has saved me 20 minutes compared to the old highways so I use that time to take a little cruise through the core where I have lived since 2010. I just passed the luxury condos on the SW corner of Richmond and Dundas and the streets are bustling with shoppers and pedestrians many of them with grocery bags from the XYZ (fill in your favorite big box brand here) store which is located on the main floor of the Galleria. The entire two block area bound by Dundas, Ridout, Wellington, and Central have been dubbed "DineTown Canada" as a result of the area celebrating the opening of its 100th eating establishment. This new hotbed of culinary delights has been featured in Gourmet Magazine, the LCBO's Monthly Magazine, and has fast become a destination for motor-coach tours and groups of all kinds.
All of the streets that form the borders of "DineTown" are beautifully landscaped with hundreds of real, healthy trees, award winning hanging plants and all of the utility poles and posts are free from a single flyer, poster, or pamphlet as their glossy black finish shimmers in the daylight. Strangely, there is not a single cigarette butt to be found nor is there a trace of graffiti on building walls.
Classical music is playing throughout the district and more charter busses pass by on their way to the designated bus lot. The Free Press this morning featured a story on the area in honour of it being designated one of Canada's top ten tourist destinations. As I continue down to the end of Dundas I am struck by the five canoes and three racing skulls that that are making their way along the river directly in front of our three fountains. And the River Walkway that is now full of small restaurants and novelty shops is teaming with tourists. The water is faster moving, deeper, and cleaner than I remember it back in 2011. There are virtually no empty buildings along Dundas or in the rest of the core for that matter. And the 2000 Fanshawe students that everyone was so worried about fitting in are now just as much of a fixture in the core as bankers and accountants.
Better hurry home now as I have a luncheon appointment at The Diner on Dundas, which is the award winning Fanshawe College training facility which, today outguns George Brown as Canada's top culinary school. With UWO's new downtown campus located right next door, it is little wonder the area is cooking with gas.
Life is good in the core and all those controversial decisions that were made in the decades leading up to 2025 have proven their worth.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...better wake up now, it's that darned alarm clock again.
Febrary 28 2011 -- Zero Tax Increase; Zero Solar; Brison on the Economy
So, it's in the bag! Mayor Joe and his almost totally unanimous Council have done it. In spite of its many detractors, the Zero Tax Increase Budget is now a reality. And with that reality, the "Mission Impossible" assertions about a zero tax increase have evaporated into thin air.
How they got there is a matter of debate and we can all revisit the merits of these methods over the next three budgets. But no matter, the die is cast and the changes that we anticipated under the new Mayor are taking place with great urgency and speed.
And, while the Mayor and Council deserve all of the kudos they are receiving, what should not be lost is the very responsive and enthusiastic work that was undertaken by Jeff Fielding and his senior team to make this a reality. In other circumstances it would have been easy for the City's administration to dig their heels in and make the job of achieving zero, almost impossible. That was not the case and its worthy of our collective appreciation.
So what does all this say to Londoners? - Perhaps a number of things. One, it begs the question, why could we not have achieved this milestone before? Two, it forecasts a new way of budgeting and very likely a systemic overhaul of the departmental budgeting process, perhaps forever. And three, it removes anyone's doubt about the Mayor not being resolute in his efforts to achieve this milestone. He is resolute personified.
Shifting to Queen's Park, the entire Green Energy movement in Ontario went into a coma earlier this month as the McGuinty Government slammed the breaks on solar installations. Upset by the reversal are the countless number of farmers, individuals and businesses who were counting on the plan to reduce their energy bills and perhaps make them some money in the process.
Among others, this Chamber had previously cautioned the Premier on the rapid acceleration of Green Energy initiatives and urged a slow down until the province's energy infrastructure was in a better position to accommodate these new found sources of energy on the grid system...oops! Memo to wind power advocates: ditto.
Federally, Opposition Finance Critic, Scott Brison paid a visit to the Chamber last week and offered his party's perspective on what the country and the economy might look like if the Liberals were elected to lead.
Brison is a seasoned veteran and offered numerous ideas and proposals to a number of critical issues facing the country. He argues that while the country has statistically pulled out of the recession, the human recession continues to linger.
While we respectfully disagreed with him, he also asserts that continuing on the path to cut corporate taxes is ill-timed and should be postponed until such time as the government can bring the books back into balance. As an alternative to corporate tax cuts, if elected, Brison claimed his party would offer a three year payroll tax holiday on new hires employed by all sizes of Canadian businesses.
He quite rightly points out that there is a detectable smugness amongst Canadians about the recovery as we continue to compare ourselves to the plight of the Americans. His view is that we are setting the bar too low and we ought to be focused instead on the new emerging economies such as China and India.
Brison also argues that Canada has an opportunity to leverage our social policies as economic drivers, sighting early childhood education, training and wellness strategies as just a few of the enablers.
He openly worries about the cost of health care and the demographic realities that are driving costs skyward. He is also concerned about growing U.S. protectionism and the enormous size of Canada's debt.
Asked if he would accept the Finance portfolio if his party were to win the next election, he not unexpectedly declared his allegiance to his leader and the party and would serve wherever asked. A veteran's response indeed.
February 14 2011 -- The CHAMBERview
So the Mayor successfully launched his first Economic Council meeting on January 27th and I must say the energy in the room was palpable and enthusiastic. Many recognizable Londoners, about a hundred by my count, took part in a rather robust and interesting exercise designed to tease out some new ideas as well as respond to questions about how we as a community could do better and what obstacles were in our way that may be blocking us from taking London to the next level.
Although the organization was a little chaotic at times, there were certainly enough new faces and new ideas to make the exercise worthwhile. Other similar exercises have been attempted in the past where the same energy and same fresh ideas seemed in abundance, however, none of its (the Economic Councils) predecessors were able to move beyond goodwill and high energy into a truly actionable agenda. That could be because they didn't know how to ask for action or perhaps it was simply assumed that the action would just follow naturally. No matter, it's a new game and there's a new sheriff in town.
The moment of truth will be on March 10th when the group is re-assembled to review what was said and to see what actions will come out of it. And, we now have a greater call to action with London having slipped to the 11th (down from the 10th) largest municipality in Canada behind Kitchener Waterloo. Will we stand and be counted or will we just be counted and stand? Hmmm...Fingers crossed!!
More on the Mayor:
To suggest that the Feb. 2nd State of the City address by his worship was different would be like comparing the old library to the new, the old market to the new one or the JLC to the old rink. Okay maybe not that wildly different but in fact - it was wildly different. Thirteen hundred of London's business leaders (a new Canadian record for attendance) witnessed everything from a separate presentation from CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics) to holograms, to a roving interviewer in the audience (a first for me) and a live, unedited Q and A with attendees. Again, the address was enthusiastic, bombastically different and while there may be an abundance of critics as to the style or content, there can be no denying that there is something cooking here and more and more people I believe will be calling in for the recipe. If you aren't wearing your "I'm on Team London" button yet, my guess is you'll soon be in the minority.
Dalton Watch?
In my last column I referred to the "Where's Dalton" group in reference to the suggestions that the Premier has been laying low lately. If he was at all, he exploded that myth by joining Chamber members and those of the Canadian Club in a jointly sponsored lunch at the Convention Centre for what was arguably a very enthusiastic and energetic address. With apologies to Chris Bentley, who I badgered for months to get the Premier here, he (we) were finally successful as the Premier addressed a large crowd at the London Convention Centre on Feb. 2nd. The main message...there's an election coming and Dalton believes he's the best man for the job. On balance his slide presentation was a clear improvement over previous addresses.
In Ottawa:
Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced a new vision for the Canada-U.S. border earlier this month and I for one welcome the initiative and view it as an important step in improving the efficiency of our shared border.
Unfortunately since 9/11 there have been dramatic increases in security measures at the border - costly measures that are being paid by businesses that use the border the most. When coupled with growing layers of regulations, increasing regulatory complexity, infrastructure constraints and uncertain wait times it is not surprising that businesses have been calling for change.
While I applaud the two for this initiative, I would urge both governments to live up to their commitments and work with business and industry to develop a shared border that functions to protect both our economic as well as our physical security.
January 31 2011 - The Chamber View
With appreciation to the London Free Press in allowing me a piece of their Biz Monday real estate, I will attempt in this column to observe, listen and comment on those issues that are evolving out of Ottawa, Queen's Park and 300 Dufferin and the impact that any of those issues may have on London's business community.
This week I'll start with 300 Dufferin and offer an early reflection on how Mayor Joe is doing out of the gate. From all accounts, he deserves full marks for a number of things most notably his take-charge, no-nonsense style of leadership. "Snowmegedon" (and don't we all hope that word disappears from the face of the earth) was handled with "Paton-like" speed and polish. And, like it or not, Council, and most boards and commissions, along with senior administration seem to have received the zero tax increase message loud and clear.
And quite refreshingly his "get in line or get out of the line" mantra seems to be resonating well throughout London's business ranks. For those still agonizing over Mayor Joe's ability to repeat the zero tax increase feat in years two, three and four - many in the business community are starting to think that it just might be possible. They (and those still agonizing) will just have to wait and see but so far, so good. Perhaps we'll all learn more at the upcoming "State of the City Address" on February 2nd at the Convention Centre (shameless Chamber sales plug alert).
As for selling off golf courses, hopefully cool heads will prevail and someone, likely the mayor, should demand a full review that takes into account the real cost of operations (including water charges, labour, equipment etc.), the real net operating profit results if any, and then compare that to the real assessment expectations that would accrue to the city if the properties were sold. In other words -- do a real business case scenario. Did I mention the word "real" anywhere??
On the provincial scene, with an election coming in the Fall, the "Where's Dalton" gang seems emboldened by the Premier's recent disclosure that he may not complete and entire term if re-elected. That could possibly spell changes to the political landscape in London's three Liberal held ridings.
However, insiders are warning the electorate not to take Dalton lightly. He's a political scrapper, he's clearly savvy and he's a demonstrated winner.
Again, it's wait-and-see time but I suspect the Premier will be coming through these parts anytime soon to shore up the defenses and give his caucus allies a boost. Perhaps the cheque book will accompany him as it generally does in an election year. I'm also sure there will be many (including the London Chamber) that will remind him that he (the Ontario Treasury) is already overdrawn, but I digress.
I'll have more to say on the federal election front in the next column, but for now, let's just say...let the mudslinging begin. Oh look, it already has!!
