Niagara's Good News Story Continued

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JAPAN / SOUTH KOREA TRIP

Niagara Regional Council has identified economic development as being key to the future of our community.

To that end, at the beginning of this year the Niagara Economic Development Corporation engaged in formulating a robust economic development strategy with the help of key private and public sector players.

Our strategy provides a plan as to how we can proceed forward over the next 5-10 years and it provides a picture of how Niagara fits into the broader scope of the provincial and national economies.

Over the past year, we have conducted missions to Queen's Park and to the House of Parliament to carry forward our message that what is good for Niagara is good for Ontario and for Canada. We have stressed the need to provide us with the tools to continue to grow intelligently.

The northern Niagara communities of Grimsby, Lincoln, St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the Town of Pelham are mostly landlocked due to the province's greenbelt legislation. However, development pressure continues to mount along the QEW corridor in these northern communities. We need to be able to divert this pressure into southern Niagara where it can be more readily accommodated.

In order for this to happen, we need a more robust transportation system in our southern tier and we need the province to provide us additional smart growth tools for the communities in our northern tier.

One of the best things the province can do for Niagara is to move ahead as quickly as possible with the expansion of the 406 to four lanes.  They have committed to the expansion from Beaverdams to Port Robinson Road. 

I am pleased that last week the MTO awarded a $22.6 million contract to a local Niagara firm for this expansion.  However, we would like them to continue forward with the expansion of the 406 to East Main Street in Welland and eventually extend the highway into Port Colborne.

We also need to maintain pressure on the provincial government to carry forward with the Environmental Assessment process for the Niagara-GTA Corridor.  The terms of reference for the Environmental Assessment were handed to the Ministry of Transportation to the Ministry of Environment late last month.  We need to make sure the project carries on as expeditiously as possible.

Niagara has a distinct strategic advantage by being a key link between the economies of southern Ontario and the eastern United States, and advantage that can be enhanced by improvements to our transportation system such as the Niagara-GTA Corridor and the further enhancement of the 406.

Our location and our manufacturing heritage make Niagara an attractive location for foreign investment.  As you may recall, Toyota recently announced their decision to establish an assembly plant in Woodstock to be operational by 2008.  This announcement provided the backdrop of a mission to Japan and South Korea that I led which was put together by the Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

This Toyota announcement means that primary, secondary, and tertiary suppliers will be increasing their capacity to service this new plant. 

Similarly, there are signals that other manufacturers such as Honda, Nissan, and Kia will be increasing production and establishing new product lines in North America over the medium-term.

We met with representatives from all of those companies, and it was interesting to note that many of them only knew Niagara for our tourism - not a negative thing to be known for, but they were unaware of our manufacturing past. 

Unexpectedly, a couple of leads were generated in Japan in cases where Niagara was not previously being considered. 

Based on our meetings, Niagara has been asked to provide detailed follow-up information.  This is currently being done by Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

We have also had more local success on the economic development front with DMI Industries of Fargo North Dakota expanding its heavy steel wind tower fabrication operations into Canada with the purchase of a manufacturing plant in Fort Erie.  There is also the Wolf Lodge announcement in Niagara Falls, and the Sir Adam Beck III project among others.

While talking about local economic development issues, I would be remiss if I didn't say a few words about the recent announcement by General Motors regarding their facility on the West Side of Ontario Street.

While it is too soon to know how exactly the GM announcement will work out in Niagara, it is my hope that many of the proposed job cuts can be achieved through attrition and offset by GM's additional $170 million investment in its high feature V6 engine line at the Glendale plant.  This investment is intended to add extra capacity there. Needless to say, I will be monitoring the situation closely, as will the Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

CONCLUSION

Rotarians, Niagara's future is bright.  We are a good news story.  There are some challenges we must face, however, I prefer to think of them as opportunities - opportunities we must face with enthusiasm, vigour, and an undaunted spirit.

Niagara Region, working with other levels of governments, and with committed community leaders like the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South, is on the path to making Niagara an even better place to live than it already is.  I truly believe Niagara's best times are ahead of us.

Thank you.

Ed Telenko thanked Mr. Partington and presented him with a token of the club's appreciation, noting that balancing all the special interests in the region takes a great deal of leadership and skill and that Mr. Partington has managed to do this and still remain a nice guy.