Backgrounder
April 26, 2010
WATSON OUTLINES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
Economic development is one of the most important responsibilities of a civic leader. Effective economic development requires an in-depth knowledge of a region’s assets, a clear vision for the future and the ability to work as a team to mobilize our assets to achieve our vision.
Today Jim Watson spoke to The Ottawa Rotary Club and set out a number of economic development initiatives:
1. Enabling our educational facilities to become a driver for our economic development
2. Reinvigorating The Ottawa Partnership (TOP)
3. Standing up for small business
4. Defending our Official Plan
5. Energizing Hydro Ottawa as a driver for growth in the green energy sector
6. Taking a Focused Approach to Boosting Tourism
1. Enabling our Educational Facilities
Ottawa can become a leading education destination, one that attracts new foreign students and provides meaningful work for new graduates and co-op students. Jim Watson would:
• Partner will local businesses and open City Hall to take on the challenges of creating thousands of new student co-op positions in Ottawa.
• Co-invest in the marketing of Ottawa’s institutions of higher learning abroad to attract new foreign students.
• Celebrate the success of our students and teachers at all levels by creating the City Medals of Merit for Excellence in Education.
2. Reinvigorating The Ottawa Partnership (TOP)
The Ottawa Partnership was created to bring together business, educational and civic leaders to harness the sharpest minds in the city and to develop strategies for growing Ottawa’s economy. It is Ottawa’s platform for enabling innovation and promoting competitiveness. Jim Watson would:
• Take an active role in Co-Chairing TOP along with a no-nonsense private sector leader.
• Restore regular meetings of TOP and ensure it takes its rightful place again in coordinating goal-oriented economic development.
• Renew TOP’s membership and bring our university and research innovators on board to provide new directions and fresh insights.
• Re-brand and rename OCRI to “Invest Ottawa” and work with the organization to return to its core business – attracting and growing economic development opportunities and jobs.
• Work with foreign embassies to discover and develop business opportunities for Ottawa companies; strengthen ties with key markets through Canadian embassy staff in our targeted foreign markets
3. Standing up for Small Business
Our small businesses are critical to our long-term economic growth and prosperity and they need a stronger voice at City Hall. Jim Watson will:
• Establish a Council of Business Improvement Areas and meet regularly with the leaders of our vibrant business areas to help them realize the projects that they identify as being critical to their success.
• Make a firm commitment to promptly and properly provide core services to small businesses by cutting red tape and setting and reporting on clear services standards.
• Set clear standards for turn around times on planning and permitting - make them stick through a “we get it done or it’s free” rule modeled on the successful approach taken with Ontario’s birth certificates.
• Ensure that Ottawa becomes the easiest city in the country in which to start a new business and become an entrepreneur.
4. Defending Our Official Plan
Our Official Plan needs a champion. This document, which plays a central role in securing the health of our City, has been undermined and eroded over the past few years. Jim Watson will stand up for our official plan and:
• Resist pressure to expand the Urban Boundary in unaffordable ways.
• Stand up for compatible infill development that maximizes the use of existing infrastructure.
• Work with both the Federal government and the N.C.C. as well as the Ottawa Airport Authority to better coordinate land use planning to help stimulate economic development opportunities.
• Renew the energy and creativity in the City Planning department
5. Energizing Hydro Ottawa
Ottawa Hydro is an important civic asset with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets and a strong, growing rate base. Jim Watson will:
• Improve the integration of City initiatives to make better use of Hydro Ottawa’s capabilities.
• Move boldly and swiftly to create green power generation opportunities in our City in order to attract clean technology jobs for Ottawa in the production of solar equipment.
• Set targets of renewable generation in Ottawa over the next three years for megawatts.
6. Take a Focused Approach to Boosting Tourism
Tourism is a vital driver in our City. Jim Watson will:
• Create an integrated effort to draw visitors for a major celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017.
• Partner to build and draw more visitors to successes like Winterlude, Bluesfest and the Chamber Music festival.
• Create more high profile sporting events like the Bell Capital Cup, extending the concept to create an event for soccer in June and ultimate frisbee in September.
• Mobilize our diverse community to open business links and draw new visitors from around the world.
• Take advantage of rural tourism and agri-tourism opportunities as Canada’s largest rural community.
• Work to secure office space for Ottawa Tourism in a civic facility as the city’s contribution, thus freeing up scarce dollars for marketing.
