"views expressed are those of our individual members and may or may not reflect those of the Chamber"

June 21, 2010 

Please note that there has been no attempt to plagiarize in the following article.  It is acknowledged that portions of this article contain language and syntax taken directly from Mr. Michael Warren’s June 21, 2010 article that appeared in the The Owen Sound Sun Times entitled “The Chamber of Commerce is Accentuating the Negative”. 

This article, on the other hand, expresses a very different personal point of view of another Chamber Member.      

The Chamber of Commerce - Accentuating the Positive does not mean overlooking the Negative 

I am a long time member of the Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce. Over the last few years the services offered by our Chamber have been improved in many ways. I characterize the approach to the Chamber’s advocacy role as  “Build a stronger local economy by accentuating the positive but not overlooking the negative.”

To quote Dave Moyer, the current Chamber president “(the) Advocacy role is the essence of The Chamber”.  I agree; what we have witnessed in recent years is advocacy around challenging issues that pertain not only to the development and growth of our local economy but also to the advancement of the entire community. Our advocacy is most often supportive and positive but, on occasion, entails critiquing municipal policies, procedures and practices to assure that clarity, transparency and consistent application provide a constructive and level playing field for economic and community development. The City of Owen Sound is a Chamber member and, like all of our members, is well aware of the role that we collectively play in improving the business environment in which we operate.

Some find that having The City as a member of The Chamber of Commerce borders on absurdity; after all, the City sits looking for taxes, and business is trying to keep enough money to survive and hopefully grow; however, in our case, this strategy of inclusion rather than exclusion has had a transforming and motivational effect on local government and our membership, while leaving room for challenge and disagreement.

The City and The Chamber are in agreement that growing The City’s business and residential base is key to keeping future taxes under control; businesses create jobs and jobs attract people.  Growth is a primary path to reasonable taxes. It is a shared responsibility between local business, our major institutions and The City.

A multitude of resources have been brought into play to make this happen, including The City’s Tourism and Economic Development Department, the Economic Development Advisory Committee, The Chamber, the DIA, the Business Enterprise Centre, the Business Alliance and Georgian College, to name a few; however, in the end it is City Council that plays a deciding role. 

It is City Council that, amongst other things, sets the tax rates, applies for funding, establishes and enforces the by-laws, decides on zoning and planning issues, determines development charges and user fees, passes the budgets that allocate our tax dollars and awards city contracts to businesses to provide services required by The City.

It would appear, though, that something has gone quite amiss at City Hall – something that could seriously jeopardize the efforts of so many people working to develop and grow this great city.

At a recent Monday night City Council meeting, The Chamber pressed for answers about a contract that wasn’t awarded to a London, Ontario firm.  Also, it wanted details about negotiations going on between The City and the Medical Clinic. Understanding and dealing with both of these issues, and a third issue, the Recreation Centre, is primary if we are to continue to vigorously pursue outside business investment.  

These three issues are of major significance:

The first is the Transit Service Contract.

In this case, The City requested proposals, from a number of companies, to assume responsibility for the operation of The City’s Transit Service.

Two companies could be considered serious contenders - a local, well-entrenched company, and a company based in London.  The research done by The Chamber indicated that both companies had the qualifications to provide the services required.  The London company proposed providing the services at a cost approximately $70,000 LESS than the local company.  The London company was not interviewed and their proposal was summarily dismissed. The contract was awarded to the local company, who, by the way, was a Chamber member.

The primary consideration is obvious:  was the playing field level and the contract awarded fairly?  The Chamber certainly hopes so.  Nothing gives us greater pleasure than watching a local company, particularly a Chamber member, prosper and grow; but how does it look to the London company and for that matter any company considering to establish in or relocate to Owen Sound?  The Chamber went to City Council looking for details and information that would refute any suspicions or allegations of misdoing.  The Chamber deposition was angrily rebuffed by City Council. 

The only explanation that was offered was that Council saw ‘greater value’ in the higher-priced local proposal.  Please, Council, explain how we incorporate that ambiguous rationalization into the “Attract New Business” portion of the marketing plan for The City?

I doubt if Council’s explanation brought any comfort or reassurance to the London company.  What will their response be if asked if Owen Sound is a welcoming, good place to establish or relocate a business?

The second issue involved establishing a medical clinic on the west side of the harbour.  If the primary purpose of the medical clinic is to provide a high level of primary care to the people in and around Owen Sound, then the more suitable location would be on the east side.  The hospital, lab facilities, Public Health Centre, Retirement and long-term care facilities, Georgian College and other medical services are already there.

It took extensive consultation over an extended period of time to develop and reach consensus on the City Visionary Plan.  This plan does not accommodate the development of a medical clinic on the proposed site area. There is not enough available land on this site, and the only option would be to do a land swap for land already designated by The City for another purpose.  If all of this behind the scenes flip-flop is The City’s actual development model then what validity does the City Visionary Plan have?  How is this affecting the credibility of both The City and City Council?

Does any of the above reflect Council’s commitment to clarification, transparency and the consistent application of Municipal policies, procedures and practices to assure a level playing field?

The third issue, of course, is the Recreation Centre.

The Chamber’s involvement with this project started when it arranged for Premier McGuinty to speak at The Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.  In preparation for his visit, The Chamber sat down with MP Larry Miller and MPP Bill Murdoch to get a sense of the types of projects for which the two governments would favour providing supplemental funding under the new stimulus programs.  The Chamber submitted a list of four projects specific to Owen Sound.  The one at the top of the list was The Recreation Centre, described as a facility promoting wellness as a primary contributor to health care.  Although recreation is considered a provincial matter, this idea, shared by some other communities, was presented to the Prime Minister by a few MPs including our own, Larry Miller.

The concept was sold and the funding approved.

The rules were set out quite clearly: projects could be considered only if the applicant could assure that the project was ‘shovel-ready’ and would be substantially completed by the deadline.   The City of Owen Sound made the application and, in so doing, provided the assurances. 

It is now quite apparent that the project was far from ‘shovel-ready’ and could never be substantially completed by the deadline.  To the list of our concerns with the City and City Council, this adds the issue of integrity. 

I want to make it very clear that these are not accusations; these are issues and situations that require immediate clarification and explanation and that must be redressed. 

Following along the same path, the pressure that is being directed toward MP Larry Miller is incomprehensible.

Larry Miller helped make this funding opportunity happen, in part, by relying on the information and assurances provided by The City as being of sufficient substance to meet the clearly stated funding requirements of the Recreation Centre project.  It appears he may have been ill-advised; should he now find himself in an embarrassing position? 

MP Larry Miller works at the Federal Government level and deals with Members of Parliament from across our country.

Consider this scenario: a town in Canada wanted to apply for funding for an equally-worthy project that was shovel-ready; however, they knew it would be 45 days late in becoming substantially completed; therefore they elected to disqualify themselves from requesting funding.  What does Larry Miller say to the MP from that town’s riding if Owen Sound, having demonstrated that they were not shovel- ready and that they could not complete the project within the allotted timeframe, gets an extension? 

Remember that we are talking about Federal tax dollars here.  That means that the money going into our Recreation Centre is coming out of the pockets of taxpayers from Newfoundland to British Columbia.  I suspect that if the situation were reversed we would be screaming at MP Larry Miller to get our money back!

When it comes to Municipal issues, who is ultimately responsible for clarification, transparency, honesty, integrity and credibility?

It has to be City Council.

Members of City Council are people who sought election and currently hold their positions as paid, elected officials and are accountable to the electorate and all taxpayers for their actions and the actions of the staff of City Hall.

The Chamber also conducted a climate (general feeling) survey of its members to get a sense of the overall local business feeling. The response rate well-exceeded the statistical norm for an online survey of this type.  The bottom line shows that small business owners and managers enjoy living here, playing here and working here; however, there is a warning flag being raised, as a statistically higher number than the statistical norm expressed a positive opinion of our living environment and yet also feel that this is not a good place within which to operate a business.  They are entitled to their opinion and should be thanked for expressing it.

Michael Warren’s “Bad News Bears” doomsday comments about the economy may look at a macro or global picture.  His observation of the absence of large companies in our Chamber membership is acknowledged, but must be tempered with the acceptance that there are not a great number of large companies operating in the area and most of those that are here are members of The Chamber. 

This area, fortunately, functions in a microeconomic environment and is driven mostly by local customers provided with the options to deal with anything from box stores to local farmers; and yet small business survives and provides the engine for our economic growth. Aside from his own firm, I have no idea upon what statistics Mr. Warren relies  when he states that  “most Chamber firms, including my (his) own company are still struggling in an atmosphere of economic uncertainty”; however, I do proudly point out that while the former giants of industry such as General Motors, Chrysler, and an ever-growing list of financial institutions have fallen in disgrace, small business is very much alive and well in Owen Sound.

I conclude by emphasizing that This Is An Election Year!

The electorate gets to question, evaluate and judge the last four years’ performance of its current elected officials; it also gets to determine if their positions, policies, credibility and integrity, as well as those of new candidates, align with the high standards to which we are entitled, and which we must demand, in order to assure future success for our great City of Owen Sound.

Paul Neville is a local businessman, a Chamber member, and a former President of the Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce.  He has just completed a 6-year term on the Board of Directors of same.




Letter on Chamber survey by Michael Warren