Halton Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy by Pier 8 Group

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary The Region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is one of the strategic documents identified in the Halton Region Strategic Plan as required to establish direction and guide decision making in the Region. It is a guide to understanding the Regional economy and in taking action to meet desired goals and objectives in a planned and measurable manner. Halton Region’s Economic Development Strategy emerged from a comprehensive, broad based study process. This included stakeholder consultation, a detailed review of the Region’s economy and an alignment of the strategies, goals and actions with other key Regional plans and strategies. The chart below provides a high-level overview of the process used to develop the Economic Development Strategy. In developing the Region’s Economic Development Strategy, input provided by stakeholders was important. Many opportunities for input and involvement were provided and feedback was received through meetings,

Halton Region Strategic Plan

breakfast roundtable events, public information sessions, focus group sessions and surveys. Emphasis was placed on input from the Local Municipalities that play a key role in economic development service delivery in Halton. The Region’s Economic Development Strategy is built upon a clear sense of the community’s hopes and aspirations for the future. The Vision to guide the Economic Development Strategy reflects a desired future. The Vision provides a basis for the detailed Strategic Themes, Goals & Actions that focus on all aspects of the community’s economic prospects. “Halton will be a Region with an innovative and diverse economy built on the basis of its choice competitive location, vibrant skilled labour force, high quality infrastructure and positive business environment where skilled workers live and work.”

Stakeholder Consultation

Halton Region Official Plan Provincial Policies & Plans Other Regional Plans & Strategies

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Region’s Economic Vision

Research Figure 1 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary

Halton Region has many strengths and opportunities that, if managed effectively, will result in future economic prosperity. To ensure that the Region reaches its full potential, actions have been developed to capitalize on its strengths and future growth opportunities by creating and nurturing additional local employment opportunities to improve Halton’s live-work relationship. In addition, the Economic Development Strategy has been developed to leverage Halton’s quality of life and help to retain

and attract businesses and encourage professionals and skilled workers to live and work in the Region. Halton’s economy is significantly influenced by the economies of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the Province of Ontario, Canada, and, increasingly, the global economy. The Region’s Economic Development Strategy focuses on actions to address issues and mitigate threats to the extent that the Region has the ability to control these factors. Actions have been incorporated in the Strategy to monitor the Region’s competitive position and to respond, as needed, to maintain its competitiveness. Further actions have been developed to support economic growth and prosperity with a focus on ensuring that the Region’s employment lands and infrastructure are planned and delivered to attract and retain businesses in the Region.

VISION “Halton will be a Region with an innovative and diverse economy built on the basis of its choice competitive location, vibrant skilled labour force, high quality infrastructure and positive business environment where skilled workers live & work.”

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Halton – A Location of Business

Competitive Business Environment

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Strategic Themes • Increase awareness of Halton as a location of choice for business

• Ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area (GGH)

• Encourage new entrepreneurs, start up and growing businesses in Halton • Provide support to business in skills development

• Maintain strong partnerships with Local Municipalities in the delivery of services to Halton’s businesses • Advocate to other levels of government to improve

Ontario’s and Halton’s competitive position in the

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

global marketplace • Foster stronger links with education, training and innovation networks to support Halton businesses • Support economic development partnership initiatives within Halton that support Regional priorities

• Maintain an adequate supply of serviced industrial/ commercial land to support economic growth • Implement programs and strategies to support economic growth in key corridors and sectors for Halton

Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

• Provide incentives for economic growth which meet the objectives of the Province’s Places to Grow Plan and the Halton Region Official Plan • Ensure that the transportation infrastructure in Halton supports economic growth

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary

1 Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

2 Competitive Business Environment

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Increase awareness of Halton as a location of choice for business • Develop a communications plan, integrated with local efforts, targeted to existing and prospective businesses highlighting Halton’s strengths • Develop updated marketing materials, in conjunction with the Local Municipalities, to support investment attraction activities at the Region, the Local Municipalities and the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) • Refresh the Region’s Business Development website • Establish a Regional Economic Round Table and host forums

Ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area • Undertake periodic reviews and benchmarking of fees and business costs • Maintain the Region’s deferral and discount policies for non-residential development charge (DC) payments • Investigate the impacts of additional Regional DC discounts for expansions of industrial (manufacturing) and concentrated office uses to spur reinvestment and encourage intensification • Investigate the possibility and the impacts of providing increased Regional DC discounts for office park concentrations in future Development Charges By-law updates to stimulate office development in Halton • Review the industrial tax rates on an annual basis with a view to consider lowering the industrial tax rate towards the commercial tax rate

3 Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Strategic Themes Encourage new entrepreneurs, start up and growing businesses in Halton • Continue to enhance services offered through the Region’s Business Development Division • Continue to promote and support programs to stimulate youth entrepreneurship • Enhance the Access to Professionals mentoring programs • Continue to work with networks linking angel investors, venture capital, banks and other financing sources to new businesses and research to improve access to capital for new firms

Provide support to business in skills development

• Support the development and delivery of industry-based training initiatives including cooperative programs and support of apprenticeship programs to assist workers in developing new skills and provide a positive transition from academia to the work environment. • Work with the Halton Industry Education Council and other stakeholders to establish a labour market skills information system to facilitate better forecasting of industry requirements, skills shortages and deficiencies

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary

4 Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Maintain strong partnerships with Local Municipalities in the delivery of services to Halton’s businesses • Continue to participate and provide leadership to the Halton Economic Development Partnership • Continue liaison efforts by the Region’s Business Development Division with other Regional departments and other levels of government to provide assistance in resolving issues faced by Halton businesses • Improve level of awareness regarding new programs and initiatives to improve the overall service delivery to Halton businesses • Enhance the availability of economic and competitive data and other tools to promote collaborative efforts and planning

Advocate to other levels of government to improve Ontario’s and Halton’s competitive position in the global marketplace • Continue to advocate to the Federal and Provincial levels of government to provide for appropriate funding and funding sources to support government services in Ontario to reduce the burden of property taxes for business and address the infrastructure gap • Partner with Provincial ministries to promote Halton’s profile as a business location of choice and highlight its capabilities in serving entrepreneurs • Enhance relationships with the Ontario Ministries of Research and Innovation, Economic Development and Trade, and Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes Foster stronger links with education, training and innovation networks to support Halton businesses Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

• Maintain relationships with key regional innovation networks, institutions and organizations • Develop forums to facilitate dialogue between business, labour and educational institutions to increase competitiveness of Halton businesses • Enhance existing networks and other vehicles for information exchange • Develop linkages to public and private research organizations to increase innovation, commercialization and the competitiveness of Halton’s businesses

Support economic development partnership initiatives within Halton that support Regional priorities • Investigate, in conjunction with the Local Municipalities, the establishment of a Regional Economic Development Investment Fund

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary

5 Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Maintain an adequate supply of serviced industrial/ commercial land to support economic growth • Give priority to the timely delivery of servicing for non-residential lands • Minimize front-end financing requirements of non-residential development • Review the Region’s Infrastructure Investment fund to enhance the timely development of non-residential employment lands • Phase in servicing of employment lands in conjunction with residential lands • Plan for sufficient well-located employment land designations to meet the needs of the Region and each of the Local Municipalities to 2031 providing choice, competition and flexibility in the land market

Implement programs and strategies to support economic growth in key corridors and sectors of Halton • Create strategies for non-residential, non-retail development in the key highway corridors • Develop an e conomic knowledge database including economic indicators, data relevant to key sectors, an inventory of immediately available competitive business sites and buildings to facilitate expansions and new business investment • Develop a system to track investment opportunities including key data to support follow-up and analysis of successes, trends, issues identified • Support sector initiatives in Agriculture and Tourism as per the approved 2007 actions of the Halton Region Strategic Plan

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Provide incentives for economic growth which meet the objectives of the Province’s Places to Grow Plan and the Halton Region Official Plan • Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, an incentive program to support intensification of non-residential, non-retail development in designated regional and secondary nodes and corridors as identified in the Local Municipal Official Plans • Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, an incentive program to support re-development of brownfield sites for employment uses

Ensure that transportation infrastructure in Halton supports economic growth • Ensure that goods movement and the accommodation of non-residential growth and transit facilities are given appropriate priority on the Regional road network • Ensure that the financing plan for transportation infrastructure provides for its timely delivery • Advocate to the Province regarding the priorities for highway funding to address gridlock and expansion of GO Transit services • Advocate to senior governments for permanent sustainable funding for transportation infrastructure including a permanent, increased commitment to gas tax funding

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Executive Summary Acknowledgements Contributions to the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy by the following groups and individuals are gratefully acknowledged:

Regional Municipality of Halton • Joyce Savoline, Regional Chairman • Gordon Krantz, Mayor, Town of Milton • Ann Mulvale, Mayor, Town of Oakville • John Taylor, Regional Councillor, Burlington – Ward 3 • Jane Fogal, Regional Councillor, Halton Hills – Wards 3 & 4 • Keith Bird, Regional Councillor, Oakville – Ward 3

Chairman’s Office • Alexandra Fuller, Executive Assistant to the Chairman

Chief Administrative Officer’s Office • Brent Marshall, Chief Administrative Officer • Lynne Simons, Executive Assistant to the CAO • Carleen Carroll, Director, Community Relations • Richard Cockfield, Director, Strategic Planning and Policy • Mark Meneray, Director, Legal Services & Corporate Counsel • Monica Wallenfells, Regional Clerk • Paula Smith, Assistant Corporate Counsel • David McCleary, Senior Policy Advisor • Heather Burnett, Senior Communications Specialist • Maria McDonald, Communications Specialist

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Corporate Services Department • Jane MacCaskill, Commissioner, Corporate Services and Treasurer • John Davidson, Director, Business Development Division • Elaine Holding, Business Development Officer • Sandra Nuhn, Business Development Coordinator • Janice Sheehy, Director, Financial Planning and Internal Audit • Mark Scinocca, Director, Financial Planning and Budgets • Geoff Rae, Director, Asset Management • Ralph Blauel, Director, Technology Services • Jinsun Kim, Manager, Capital Budget and Development Financing

Health Department • Dr. Bob Nosal, Commissioner, Medical Officer of Health

Planning and Public Works Department • Peter Crockett, Commissioner, Planning and Public Works • Dave Clancy, Director, Environmental Services • Jane Clohecy, Director, Planning and Transportation Services • Ho Wong, Manager, Long Term Planning • Mary Kim Cichocki-Beaudry, Senior Planner • Shelley Partridge, Senior Planner

Social and Community Services Department • Adelina Urbanski, Commissioner, Social and Community Services • Rob Cressman, Director, Housing Division • Gwen Maloney, Manager, Housing Initiatives and Administration

City of Burlington, Towns of Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville • Don Baxter, Executive Director, Burlington Economic Development Corporation • Bill Anderson, Economic Development Officer, Town of Halton Hills • Andrew Siltala, Manager, Economic Development, Town of Milton • Jacqueline Isada, Investment and Client Development Officer, Oakville Economic Development Alliance

Chambers of Commerce • Keith Hoey, President, Burlington Chamber of Commerce • Sue Walker, General Manager, Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce • Sandy Martin, Executive Director, Milton Chamber of Commerce • John Sawyer, Executive Director, Oakville Chamber of Commerce

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade • John Langley, Director, Investment and Trade Division • Gregory Wootton, Manager, Investment and Trade Division

Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship • Steven Dalton, Business Advisor

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

Strategic Themes, Goals and Action Plan

Theme 1: Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

Theme 2: Competitive Business Environment

Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism and Skills Development

Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Theme 5: Planning for Growth and Economic Prosperity

Appendix A: Strategic Alignment

Appendix B: Partnering with Provincial and Federal Ministries and Agencies

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Introduction The Region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is one of the strategic documents identified in the Halton Region Strategic Plan as required to establish direction and guide decision making in the Region. It is a guide to understanding the Regional economy and in taking action to meet desired goals and objectives in a planned and measurable manner. The Economic Development Strategy provides benefits including the ability to: • Provide direction for achieving economic development goals, objectives and priorities set forth in the Region’s Official Plan and the Halton Region Strategic Plan; • Create a framework for action to support Halton’s future economic prosperity and longterm competitiveness; • Engage the community and provide an opportunity to receive valuable input to ensure economic development services are focused on key business needs; • Ensure that the Region’s programs and policies are aligned with the economic development objectives; • Describe how success will be measured with respect to economic development; • Create ownership of the plan.

“State of Halton’s Economy Report” which provided a summary of work undertaken in these phases and which are an integral part of the Economic Development Strategy. Phases 1 and 2 included: • Halton’s position within a Southern Ontario economic context • A profile of Halton’s economy • A land supply, profile and adequacy analysis • Identification of perceptions of Halton’s business climate from the standpoint of a diverse cross-section of existing businesses as reported through a survey and from group and individual discussions • An analysis of Halton’s framework of taxes, fees and charges and its competitiveness within the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area • An assessment of Halton’s quality of life factors that are most relevant to economic development This report represents the third phase of the entire process.

Role of the Region’s Business Development Division

The objective of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is to create an integrated and coordinated policy, fiscal, planning and economic development framework to further Halton Region’s Strategic Plan directions in the area of economic development.

The Halton Region Business Development Division

A three-phase approach was used to develop this Economic Development Strategy. Phase I and II have been completed and a report was produced entitled the

development, working in close partnership with the

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

plays a number of key roles in the implementation of Regional economic development goals and objectives. The Division has a Council approved mandate which clearly establishes a key role for the Region in economic Local Municipalities.

Key roles include: • Provide business advice and information which encourages and assists entrepreneurs and businesses establish and grow their investment opportunities; • Provide leadership and coordination to ensure that Halton Region is an attractive live/work community, in partnership with the Local Municipalities and other stakeholders; • Create and sustain a regional network of stakeholders to stimulate economic and employment opportunities; and • Provide advice to Council on proposals and projects of major economic significance, commenting on tax and other major government policy issues. Municipalities across Ontario are extending their reach from traditional programs focusing on business attraction and retention, and land assembly. They are embracing what are considered to be contemporary approaches to economic development to further advance their ability to successfully compete at the regional, national and international level. The Region’s Business Development Division plays a leadership role in these contemporary approaches to economic development including:

Economic development in Halton is a shared responsibility. Regional and Local Municipal governments work together to integrate their respective planning and economic development efforts. The Region and the Local Municipalities within Halton have a strong interest in economic development due to its significant impact on the quality of life in Halton in terms of employment opportunities, the live/ work relationship and a diversified tax base. The Region’s Business Development Division supports business attraction and retention activities by: • Supporting programs in partnership with the Local Municipal economic development offices, Chambers of Commerce, the Province, educational institutions and non-profit organizations; • Supporting Local Municipal economic development offices by coordinating inquiries related to Regional infrastructure deployment including water, wastewater, roads, planning issues and financial requirements;

• Skills development • Entrepreneurship • Mentorship • Apprenticeship • Accessing sources of capital financing to support investment • Commercialization assistance • Providing specific services for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs • Investment in the Golden Horseshoe Regional Innovation Network

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Introduction

• Supporting marketing and investment attraction efforts provided through the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) in partnership with Local Municipal economic development departments, the Chambers of Commerce, the Province and the Federal Government; and • Supporting strategic business sectors of Regional interest including participating in trade shows (with the Local Municipalities and the GTMA), participating in roundtable discussions, providing sector specific information and programs, establishing stakeholder networks and participating in Provincial or Federal programs focusing on various sectors.

Process Used To Develop the Economic Development Strategy The Region’s Economic Development Strategy emerged from a comprehensive, broad based planning process. This included consultation with stakeholders, a detailed review of the Region’s economy and an alignment of the strategies, goals and actions with other key Regional Plans and Strategies. Figure 2 to the right provides a high-level overview of the process used to develop the Economic Development Strategy.

Strategic Alignment The strategy takes into account, and where appropriate incorporates, other planning efforts in the Region. To this end, the Economic Development Strategy has been aligned with other planning efforts such as the Halton Region Strategic Plan and the Halton Region Official Plan as well as a host of other key plans such as the Transportation Master Plan, the Comprehensive Housing Strategy and the Water and Wastewater Master Plan to name a few.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Halton Region Strategic Plan Alignment The Halton Region Strategic Plan was first introduced in 2004. It is meant to guide the Region over the three-year period from 2004 to 2006. The Economic Development Strategy has been developed in the context of the four themes of the Halton Region Strategic Plan. They are: • Managed Growth • Economic Prosperity • Services to People • Effective Halton Region The Halton Region Strategic Plan contains a number of goals which are specifically relevant to the Economic Development Strategy. They address land use, infrastructure planning and utilization, Halton’s live-work relationship, preservation of Halton’s fiscal foundation, affordable municipal tax rates and the maintenance of a skilled work force. The theme of “Economic Prosperity“ has three goals that are integral to the overall Economic Development Strategy. These include: • Create and nurture additional local employment opportunities so that residents can live and work in Halton • Create an environment to retain and attract businesses that are strategic to Regional interests • Encourage professionals and skilled workers to live and work in Halton Further, Regional Council’s approved actions for 2007 arising from the Halton Region Strategic Plan provide additional directions for economic development under the Themes of Economic Prosperity, Effective Halton Region and Managed Growth. The actions in the Economic Development Strategy generally support and complement the approved actions for 2007.

Strategic Alignment

State of Haltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economy (Phase 1 & 2)

Halton Region Strategic Plan

Stakeholder Consultation

Halton Region Official Plan Provincial Policies & Plans

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Vision

Other Regional Plans & Strategies

Research

Figure 2

Official Plan Alignment There is an important relationship between the Halton Official Plan and the Economic Development Strategy. The Official Plan provides vision, ground rules and tools for encouraging and shaping development activities. It gives clear direction as to how physical development should take place in Halton to meet the current and future needs of its people. It is also intended to reflect their collective aims and aspirations, as to the character of the landscape and the quality of life to be preserved and fostered within Halton.

natural resources, a positive business environment, and a diversified economic base. Appendix A summarizes the alignment of the themes with the Halton Region Official Plan and the Halton Region Strategic Plan.

Durable Halton Plan

The Halton Region Official Plan outlines a long-term vision for Haltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical form and community character. To pursue that vision, it sets forth goals and objectives, describes an urban structure for accommodating growth, states the policies to be followed, and outlines the means for implementing the policies within its property tax base and other financial resources.

Halton Region is taking a leadership role in defining its future by undertaking the Durable Halton Plan. The Durable Halton Plan will form the blueprint for building sustainable and healthy communities in Halton well into the future, providing certainty regarding the natural environment for the agricultural community, the aggregate industry and various private and development interests. It delivers the landform permanence concept espoused in the Halton Region Official Plan, the collective aspiration of the Halton community as to what the landscape would look like in 50 years, in 100 years, and beyond.

Specifically, the Halton Region Official Plan includes the following Economic Development Goal: To achieve sustainable economic prosperity for Halton on the basis of the competitiveness of its human and

The Economic Development Strategy is an important input to the Durable Halton Plan exercise, and will help articulate the vision, strategies and land use requirements to be supported through the future Halton Region Official Plan.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Introduction

Comprehensive Housing Strategy for Halton Region

Provincial Policies and Plans Impacting the Region’s Economic Development Strategy

In 2006, Halton Regional Council approved Halton Region’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy (CHS) that incorporates a series of policies and actions to ensure a variety of affordable housing types for Halton residents, regardless of income and stage of life. The CHS situates housing as a key need of individuals and families and acknowledges how housing impacts the environment, transportation and economic prosperity in significant ways.

There are several recent key Provincial policies, strategies and plans that directly impact the Region’s Economic Development Strategy. The 2005 Provincial Policy Statement, the Greenbelt Plan and the Places to Grow Plan provide a workable framework to guide long-term land use planning within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area (GGH).

Halton Transportation Master Plan The Halton Transportation Master Plan provides a dynamic integrated transportation strategy that considers all modes of travel. The Plan provides the Region with the strategies, policies and tools needed to manage traffic safely, effectively and cost efficiently, and to offer a range of transportation choices to meet the needs of Halton residents in conformity with the Halton Region Official Plan and the Halton Region Strategic Plan.

Waste Management Strategy The Draft 2006–2010 Solid Waste Management Strategy is a plan that reflects Halton’s goal of diverting 60% of residential waste away from the landfill and residents’ commitment to preserving the environment. The draft strategy presents a variety of options for dealing with Halton’s waste in the future.

Water, Wastewater Master Plan The Halton Water and Wastewater Master Plan develops a strategy for providing water and wastewater service to existing and new urban growth.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Specifically, the Places to Grow Plan is intended to provide a framework for implementing the Province’s vision for managing growth in the GGH to 2031. It sets out broad-level policies and specific growth and intensification targets for implementation that are applicable throughout the GGH. It expresses the Province’s interests and directions on issues ranging from: • the distribution of population, household and employment forecasts to where and how to grow; and • the infrastructure (transportation, water and wastewater systems) needed to support growth to the protection of heritage and natural resources (natural environment, source water, agriculture and mineral aggregates). The guiding principle of the Places to Grow Plan is to build compact, vibrant and complete communities to support a strong and competitive economy while protecting what are considered valuable natural resources including land, air, water, the natural environment, and prime agricultural lands. As noted above, the Region has developed a comprehensive work plan (the Durable Halton Plan) to address these recent directives which will include the development of a number of Regional policies, strategies and initiatives. The Economic Development Strategy specifically addresses growth related requirements in Theme five, “Planning for Growth and Economic Prosperity” as presented later in this strategy.

Vision It is increasingly recognized that a significant factor in the competitiveness of a region is the degree to which the residents and decision-makers share a common vision, and act consistently according to that common vision. The Region’s Economic Development Strategy is built upon a clear sense of the community’s plans and aspirations for the future. The Vision to guide the Economic Development Strategy reflects a desired future that has been formulated through the Halton Region Strategic Plan, Official Plan and other planning processes. The Vision reflects the detailed Strategic Themes, Goals and Actions that focus on all aspects of the community’s economic future.

State of Halton’s Economy Stakeholder Consultation In developing Halton Region’s Economic Development Strategy input provided by stakeholders was crucial. Many opportunities for involvement were provided and feedback was received through:

• Meetings • Breakfast roundtable events • Public information sessions • Focus group sessions (with members of Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee) • Surveys Halton’s business climate was assessed through a webbased survey of existing businesses, a review of earlier economic development plans and studies, and focus group meetings and interviews with existing business representatives. The Halton Business Climate Survey assessed local businesses’ perceptions of Halton’s business climate and sought to define how the Region’s overall environment for business investment and growth is viewed, or perceived, by business executives and owners. The survey of Halton’s business climate explored cost factors, municipal policies and services, location resources and external factors, trends and policies. Consultation was also undertaken with economic development experts. This included a survey and focus group discussions with economic and workforce development officials focusing on perceptions concerning Halton’s economic development competitiveness. Some of the issues probed included: Halton’s economic base, economic development policies, competition within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and the GGH and Halton’s opportunities relative to selected industries and business sectors. Particular attention was paid to the input from the Local Municipalities that play a key role in shaping the development future of Halton. This included consultation throughout the development of the Economic Development Strategy with the Local Municipal Economic Development Offices. Additionally, consultation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade helped in the alignment of economic development in the Region with existing and emerging business attraction and retention efforts at the Provincial level.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Introduction

The detailed findings of this consultation process are contained in the “The State of Halton’s Economy Report (Phase I and Phase II)” which is an integral part of the Economic Development Strategy.

Research To develop the Economic Development Strategy, research and analysis was undertaken to assess the state of the Regional economy, the strengths and weaknesses of Halton as well as the opportunities and threats posed by external forces and the availability of partners and resources for economic development. Halton Region has many strengths and opportunities that, if managed effectively, will result in future economic prosperity. To ensure that the Region reaches its full potential, actions have been developed to capitalize on its strengths and future growth opportunities by creating and nurturing additional local employment opportunities to improve Halton’s live-work relationship. In addition, actions have been developed to support Halton’s high quality of life, which will help to retain and attract businesses and encourage professionals and skilled workers to live and work in the Region.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

To be successful, the Region has also developed specific actions to monitor the Region’s competitive position and respond as needed, to maintain its competitiveness. Further actions have been developed to effectively plan for economic growth and prosperity with a focus on ensuring that the Region’s infrastructure is sustainable and is growing at the same pace as the rest of the economy, and that employment land is available to attract and retain businesses. The following summarizes key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) identified during the review process. This analysis assisted in developing the appropriate goals and actions included in the Region’s Economic Development Strategy.

Strengths • Diverse economic base and well-educated work force • Highly regarded quality of life – housing, facilities, social infrastructure and physical environment • Good access to a large market and labour pool • Good transportation network and prime location with extensive access to 400 series highway network • Excellent access to rail, airports, GO Transit and physical infrastructure • Substantial supply of available employment lands that is competitively priced • High labour participation rates

Opportunities • Halton’s high quality of life and positive image make it well positioned to attract organizations who depend upon highly skilled and welleducated employees and to attract talented, diverse professionals and entrepreneurs • Potential to become the location of choice as land supply is developed in other parts of the GTA, and growth in the GTA/GGH area is expected to be substantial • Supply of well-located land capable of meeting wide variety of uses • Advantageously positioned with additional water and sewer infrastructure • Growing value placed on skills and knowledge gives Halton a competitive advantage • Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning enhances opportunities for business and residents

Weaknesses • Limited major presence of large national and international organizations (Ford Motor Company of Canada is a key exception). • To date, there are few clear identifiable industry clusters • Competition for limited supply of skilled labour for manufacturing sector • High development charges and relatively high industrial property taxes • Increasing traffic congestion • Comparatively high level of labour force commuting in/out of Halton

Threats • Globalization of business increases competition from low cost jurisdictions • Disproportionate increase in provincial business education taxes if property values in Halton continue to rise at a faster pace than peer municipalities • Rise in Canadian dollar and increasing costs of energy • Transitioning North American automotive industry may have disruptive effects on the Canadian industry • Risk that funding from senior levels of government does not keep pace with growing needs of Halton residents and businesses

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Introduction Implementation The Economic Development Strategy provides a framework to guide the various activities that will enable the Region’s strategic goals to be achieved. The Economic Development Strategy reflects clear priorities for economic development in terms of what the Region does; the support required from others and the end results to be achieved by the overall strategy. It addresses key priority areas for the Region’s economic development initiatives and includes an action plan to describe the steps involved, resources, responsibilities, timing and performance measures to evaluate the success of the Region in implementing the Economic Development Strategy. Implementation of the Economic Development Strategy will be an important step toward attaining the Region’s vision for sustainable economic prosperity by building on the strengths of the Region, taking advantage of key opportunities and overcoming any challenges. Implementation of the Economic Development Strategy will take the collective know-how, skill, resources and energy of the private sector, labour, volunteer sector and all orders of government including Local Municipal support, Provincial and Federal coordination, the involvement of public institutions such as post-secondary institutions and communities working in concert to achieve the goals articulated in this document. Within Halton Region, all Regional departments have a role in implementing the Economic Development Strategy. While the Business Development Division plays the lead role in monitoring and overseeing the implementation of the strategy, Planning and Public Works Department will play a lead role in planning for growth and economic prosperity and ensuring that the infrastructure is developed on a timely basis to attract new business. The Corporate Services Department will actively monitor and make recommendations for financial incentives and programs to support economic development growth objectives. This will include reviewing development charge discount policies, property tax policies and developing appropriate investment funds to facilitate growth objectives and be competitive with other jurisdictions.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Social and Community Services Department plays a key role in economic development in that the quality of life for residents (employees) is increasingly important in attracting new business. Indeed, a high quality of life is crucial for attracting skilled technical employees, knowledge workers and professionals. The provision for a strong social infrastructure for residents includes the implementation of the Region’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy and the continued development of educational and health care facilities and cultural avenues based on the growth of the Regional economy. The Health Department plays an important role in supporting the health of the community. Its forwardlooking programs in the area of community health and its commitment to healthy environments help maintain Halton’s excellent quality of life, making the Region attractive to both residents and businesses. Beyond Regional Departments, the success of this Economic Development Strategy requires the support of Local Municipal Economic Development Offices and the business community. In particular, the Economic Development Strategy recognizes the shared high level economic development principles of the economic development offices of the Local Municipalities, developed during the consultation process, as an important basis for a successful and collaborative implementation of the Economic Development Strategy. These aligned, shared high level principles are generally embodied in each of the Strategic Themes in this Economic Development Strategy, and are listed below: • Facilitating the growth of existing and new businesses across Halton Region is a top priority of economic development; • Regional and Local Municipal economic development staff are committed to working in partnership to achieve the best possible services for businesses in order to achieve high levels of business growth; • Business Retention initiatives are Local Municipal functions that are supported cooperatively by Regional economic development activities;

• Regional and Local Municipal economic development staff shall investigate the development of a Sector focus for Halton-wide business attraction purposes in view of changing economic circumstances, senior government priorities and emerging opportunities; • Regional and Local Municipal economic development officials will work cooperatively to establish a joint economic development database which shares business information on key employers across the Region (e.g. employees, date established, sector, building and land information) in order to facilitate reporting on business growth performance measures; and • Regional and Local Municipal economic development officials will share information regularly and offer updates, comments or formal communications on opportunities or issues that have strategic economic development impacts for a Local Municipality or Region-wide (e.g. Durable Halton, Regional infrastructure plans and priorities, Local Municipal plans, local Ontario Municipal Board settlements). It is important that the Economic Development Strategy be seen as a first step during what is expected to be an unprecedented period of economic expansion for Halton. As the actions proposed in the Economic Development Strategy are implemented and as Halton’s economy gets shaped and reshaped over time, it will be necessary to revisit the Strategy to ensure that the themes, goals and actions remain relevant and realistic.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes 1

Halton – A Location of Business

Competitive Business Environment

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

• Increase awareness of Halton as a location of choice for business

• Ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area (GGH)

• Encourage new entrepreneurs, start up and growing businesses in Halton • Provide support to business in skills development

• Maintain strong partnerships with Local Municipalities in the delivery of services to Halton’s businesses • Advocate to other levels of government to improve

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Ontario’s and Halton’s competitive position in the global marketplace • Foster stronger links with education, training and innovation networks to support Halton businesses • Support economic development partnership initiatives within Halton that support Regional priorities

• Maintain an adequate supply of serviced industrial/ commercial land to support economic growth • Implement programs and strategies to support economic

growth in key corridors and sectors for Halton

Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Halton â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Location of Choice for Business

Competitive Business Environment

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Planning for Economic Growth & Prosperity

Figure 3 The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy contains five strategic themes which are supported by extensive research and include numerous actions that will be undertaken. Each theme also has associated performance measurements to assist in monitoring the progress of the Economic Development Strategy. Each strategic theme reflects the challenges and opportunities facing Halton. These themes are aimed at providing the Region with a strong and sustainable economy and will provide context for policy, resource allocation, and assist in priority setting. The five strategic themes can be seen above.

The five strategic themes do not sit in isolation. The greatest impact will be found in the areas of linkage between themes. Integrating the cross-cutting themes has been a central focus of the Economic Development Strategy. For example, theme one focuses on promoting and communicating Halton as the location of choice for business which is directly supported by the actions undertaken in the other four themes. The approach has been to identify actions that will make a positive contribution to the delivery of the cross-cutting themes.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes

Strategic Theme 1:

Strategic Theme 3:

Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

This theme is listed first as it speaks to the need to reinforce the many strengths of the Region in terms of its competitive position, both from a financial and non-financial perspective which includes:

Today, economic growth is driven by knowledge, skills, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The source of all of these attributes is people. The Region’s Economic Development Strategy recognizes people as a key focus for economic growth.

• A highly educated, skilled workforce • Available employment lands • Quality natural and built environment and greenspace • A high quality social infrastructure – Regional Comprehensive Housing Strategy, education and health, childcare, strong non-profit sector • A high quality physical infrastructure – water, wastewater, transportation The Region must position the many benefits it offers businesses and rationalize the costs. Communicating and profiling the Region’s successes and its attractive future for employment growth is a significant part of the Economic Development Strategy. This theme draws on the actions undertaken in each of the other themes to highlight and profile future directions for the Region.

Strategic Theme 2:

Competitive Business Environment This theme addresses the reality that businesses making decisions on where to locate or expand have considerable choice, and will be driven by both business cost concerns, including overall development and operating costs, as well as non-financial factors. This theme speaks to the need for the Region to be cognizant of its competitive cost position relative to its peer jurisdictions for both prospective businesses and existing employers in Halton.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

This theme expands the traditional economic development focus to include new approaches to producing, preparing, retaining and attracting a labour force with the skills necessary to succeed in the knowledge economy. The proposed actions span a continuum, from raising skill levels, through various programs and services such as coaching, mentoring, industry-based training and seminars to ensuring entrepreneurs have access to capital and professionals in the industry. They also address skills training and apprenticeship promotion to low-income clients and foreign-trained professionals. This theme addresses a core element of existing work undertaken by the Halton Region, which focuses on new entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Skills development is an area of critical concern to Halton’s small and medium sized businesses, many of whom are, or will be, facing a shortage of skilled workers and changing workforce requirements due to competitive pressures. Ensuring the right mix of labour force skills to meet the needs of the Region’s economy is one of the essential requirements for sustainable economic growth and an improved quality of life. This, in turn, suggests the need to form strong partnerships with other organizations that are involved in education, skills development, design, innovation and entrepreneurship and to develop new networks that facilitate the exchange of ideas and information.

Strategic Theme 4:

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business The Region and Local Municipalities undertake partnership arrangements and strategic alliances with businesses and non-governmental organizations to mobilize existing assets to promote the Region’s economic development objectives, and to generate new jobs and new opportunities for growth, prosperity and innovation.

Figure 4

Other Levels of Government

Businesses and Community Associations

Halton Region and Local Municipalities

Within the Broader Ontario Region

This theme is important as it outlines the manner in which economic development operates within Halton, as well as defining the role of the Region. The theme addresses the fact that a strong partnership between the Region and the Local Municipalities and the business community is critical in moving Halton’s economic development forward. Further actions have been identified where the Region will continue advocating to other levels of government to improve Halton’s competitive position.

Strategic Theme 5:

Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity The Economic Development Strategy views the substantial physical infrastructure within the Region, as well as the social infrastructure, as strategic assets that can be leveraged to support economic growth and provide a competitive advantage over other jurisdictions. There are four main goals identified within this theme:

• Maintaining an adequate land supply to service growth • Developing programs/strategies to support economic growth in key areas and sectors • Creating incentive programs/strategies aligned with the Province’s Places to Grow Plan and the Halton Region Official Plan • Ensuring a strong transportation infrastructure to support growth Actions have been identified to support the timely delivery of serviced employment lands and the implementation of programs and strategies to support economic growth in key areas. This includes developing a comprehensive database to facilitate business decisions. This theme also speaks to the need to continue to support agricultural growth initiatives and tourism initiatives enshrined in the existing Halton Region Strategic Plan. The ability to implement programs to provide incentives for economic growth is a key focus of this theme.

The Region’s Economic Development Strategic Themes, Goals and Action Plans The next section of the report provides details on the Economic Development Strategic Themes, Goals and Actions.

Strategic Theme 1: Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

pg 30

Strategic Theme 2: Competitive Business Environment

pg 36

Strategic Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

pg 44

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

pg 50

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

pg 62

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 1

Halton â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A Location of Choice for Business Theme Introduction Positive perceptions of the Regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business climate are a key element in attracting and retaining business investment and sustaining emerging entrepreneurs. Potential investors have many communities to choose from, so creating awareness of the benefits of the Region as a place to conduct business is important. There are a wide range of factors important to businesses locating or expanding in an area, including availability of serviced land and buildings, a strong, educated labour pool, cultural and recreational amenities, energy costs, transportation, school quality, health care, safety and stability of government. The weighting of factors can vary depending on the type of business.

In addition to creating a general awareness of the Region, there is the need to target those companies or investors most likely to be interested in the community for investment and supporting entrepreneurialism to grow the Halton economy. Attracting and retaining innovators requires a community that has been successful in creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Essential elements for a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship include an educated workforce, access to capital, ideas and resources to support commercialization. It is vitally important to continued economic health that Haltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business climate be seen as receptive to business. Responses from existing Halton businesses during the Economic Development Strategy consultation identified opportunities to improve business processes in Halton. Demonstrating the ability of the Region and the Local Municipalities to facilitate transactions and approvals and add value to the business community by saving them time and money will contribute significantly to a positive business climate. This is a high-level economic development principle endorsed by the Local Municipalities. This strategic theme includes actions that develop a formal and coordinated approach to investment attraction through promoting the Region in a consistent and positive manner. The Region will work closely with key partners including the Local Municipalities, the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. The focus of this theme is to maintain a regional perspective on investment attraction by aiming to promote the Region as a prime location to invest.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Businesses wishing to locate in a particular region will select a community based on such factors including the quality of the environment and lifestyle. Indeed, quality of life is a key part of Halton’s investment proposition and efforts in this area should seek to maximize this potential. Talented individuals are now as mobile as capital, so a community that aspires to gain a strategic, competitive advantage in attracting and maintaining a highly skilled workforce must maintain a quality of life that is enticing to professionals of all ages. As identified through the consultation process, businesses in Halton rank the quality of life in the Region as very high.

Goal 1A – Increase awareness of Halton as a location of choice for business Develop a Communications Plan From input provided by stakeholders during group discussions, breakfast workshops and public information sessions, it is clear that Halton is seen as an excellent location to live and work. A communications plan integrated with communications initiatives of the Local

Quality of life is important to businesses: • to create the sense of long-term stability that is necessary to secure private sector investment; • in determining where people, particularly knowledge workers, choose to locate and invest; • in retaining and attracting the skilled labour and intellectual capital that drives regional economic growth and an innovation economy; • in providing a safe, healthy and attractive physical environment; • to foster opportunities for personal and professional growth; and • to create a vibrant and enriching urban culture, for individuals and families. The quality of life in Halton will be a focus of future communications plans.

Action 1 Develop a communications plan, integrated with local efforts, targeted to existing and prospective businesses that highlights Halton’s strengths including: • Highly educated and skilled workforce • Available employment lands • Quality natural and built environment & green space • High quality social infrastructure – Regional housing strategy, education and health, childcare, strong non-profit sector • Overall high quality of life

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 1: Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

Municipalities will ensure that prospective businesses are aware of what Halton has to offer in terms of its prime location, availability of employment lands, its highly educated workforce, the high quality of social and physical infrastructure and general overall quality of life.

Action 2 Develop updated marketing material to support investment attraction activities at the Region,

Develop Marketing Materials

the Local Municipalities and the Greater

There is a need to position the Region as a prime location for investment and to develop consistent messages to use in marketing materials. This will require the development of marketing materials in cooperation with Local Municipalities that define the essence or unique features of the Region and its market position.

should address Halton-wide and Local Munici-

Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA). Material pal economic development priorities.

Action 3 Increase Halton’s profile globally through a

Municipal governments within the GTA and the GGH must continue to find ways to work in a cooperative and integrated manner to stimulate economic growth, particularly as the GTA and the GGH compete on national and international levels. One of the key ways that the Region has worked internationally is through the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance. The GTMA actively promotes the GTA internationally, and provides international companies with professional assistance in evaluating, planning and implementing an expansion or move to the GTA. Along with the federal and provincial governments, the GTMA is a contributor to new international investment opportunities for the GTA, including Halton. While Halton’s key GTA location is vitally important, part of its location appeal lies in its strategic location within the Greater Golden Horseshoe. So increasingly, Halton’s ideal location within this larger economic region needs to be highlighted.

strong working relationship and active involvement with the GTMA.

Update Website A study released by the U.S. site location consulting firm Whittaker & Associates found that 84% of American companies use the Internet to gather preliminary information on the communities under consideration during their site selection process. Most effective economic development agencies now invest as much in the development and maintenance of their website as in printed materials. Business users now expect on-line features such as business directories and Internet-

“Our most important role at the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance is to make international companies aware of the competitive advantages of locating or investing in the Greater Toronto Area.” Karen Campbell, President and CEO of the GTMA

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

based GIS (Geographic Information Systems) data, providing graphic displays of available industrial and commercial sites and buildings for sale or lease, including specific information about the utilities, transportation routes, labour force and census information for the area. Information technology has fundamentally altered the relationship between site location consulting and economic development offices. Halton’s suitability for business opportunities may be assessed based on the information on its website. It is therefore essential that this information be as complete and up-to-date as possible. The Region has had a successful business website for eight years, with the number of hits increasing from 472,264 in the first year to over 2,700,000 in 2006.

Action 4 Update the Region’s business development website to ensure that it meets requirements for site selection, including the use of imperial measurements, and profiles the business development services offered by the Region.

Action 5 Initiate a Regional Economic Round Table comprised of senior executives from business, real estate development, academia, non-profit,

The focus of the Region’s business website has been largely information services and supporting businesses. Enhancing the website to reflect the communication strategy and to expand the information to support site selection is a key recommended action.

Initiate a Regional Economic Round Table and Forums Economic development is ultimately about people and key individuals often act as catalysts for the development of strong industry groups or clusters. Harnessing the entrepreneurial energy and vision of industry champions can be a driver for growth and requires effective engagement between economic development agencies and the business community. Building this engagement through the establishment of a Regional Economic Round Table and other industry forums is a priority action for the strategy.

labour and government to advance strategic directions for Halton and to receive ongoing feedback on Halton’s competitiveness and its benchmarking relative to peer jurisdictions.

Action 6 In partnership with the Local Municipalities, increase participation in and hosting of industry events such as bi-annual forums with the Greater Toronto Area real estate development industry, to promote Halton’s strengths and profile business development opportunities and success stories within Halton.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 1: Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

Profile Services of the Region’s Business Development Division As the Region has continued to grow and the business environment has become increasingly competitive, demand for business support services has increased significantly. A one-window service providing relevant, timely, business advice and information to entrepreneurs and businesses is provided through the Halton Region Business Development Division. Many of these services are provided in support of the Local Municipal economic development offices, and in partnership with the Province, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. The Region’s services to businesses were well recognized by Halton’s business community through the Economic Development Strategy. While the results indicated that the majority of respondents considered that current economic development efforts are mainly effective, 17% of the respondents said that they were not familiar enough with the efforts being made by Halton Region to rate them. As such, there is a need to enhance external recognition for Halton’s Business Development Division to raise the profile of the services provided and to clearly identify the role of the Region in supporting Economic Development initiatives and, in particular, its services for entrepreneurs in Halton.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Action 7 Increase the profile and awareness of the services offered by the Region’s Business Development Division.

Performance Indicators Increase awareness of Halton as a location of choice for business • Number of visitors to Business Development website • Take-up of Region’s Business Development Division services by businesses and individuals • Degree of change in perception of Halton within the business community • Growth in industrial and commercial (non-retail) assessment in Halton • Creation of new jobs from existing and new businesses to Halton • % change in live-work relationship in Halton

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 2

Competitive Business Environment Theme Introduction Halton’s economic development competitiveness is a function of how well the current and future growth requirements of various businesses and industries comprising the Region’s economic base are satisfied. The strategy to address the overall issue of competitiveness for business revolves around three goals: • to ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive with peer jurisdictions within the GTA and the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) area; • to ensure that the Region remains responsive to changes in economic circumstances and open to policy considerations to ensure that employment uses are attracted, retained and will expand throughout all phases of the economic cycle; and • to ensure that information regarding local, regional and provincial economic conditions is maintained to facilitate responsiveness by the Region and the Local Municipalities in supporting economic growth. Sustaining a high rate of employment growth over a long period is difficult in markets as competitive as those in the GTA and the GGH. While economic success is influenced by broad national and international economic trends and by more specific issues such as U.S. border crossing changes, Halton’s success is also affected by cost and quality of life conditions in local markets with which it competes most directly. For most businesses, the relative competitiveness of an area is judged on costs, services, locational attributes and quality of life factors, the latter being particularly relevant to those companies that depend upon highly skilled technical and professional employees. This point

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

was emphasized by Halton’s business community that participated in discussion sessions during the review of the Region’s economy as well as by Local Municipal economic development officers. Therefore, in addition to considering financial factors, as part of the assessment of the Region’s competitive position, the Region must also consider its position with respect to the nonfinancial locational factors (e.g. available well located serviced land, access to transportation, quality of life, quality of labour), as these are often the most significant considerations in business location decisions.

Factors Impacting the Region’s Competitive Position Factors affecting a company’s locational decisions can generally be grouped into two categories:

Non-Financial Factors

Financial Factors

• site or building availability • transportation access • infrastructure • quality of labour • proximity of suppliers and market • quality of life • image • amenity • municipal approval environment • other

• land • construction cost • development cost • property taxes • other fees • utility rates • other

Competitive Position

Figure 5

The next section provides brief highlights of the Region’s competitive positioning in a number of key location sensitive factors and the issues identified in Phases I and II of the Economic Development Strategy.

Non-Financial Factors Site Availability • Halton’s employment lands possess similar features to their GTA neighbours. Halton’s geographic location in the western part of GTA/GGH is a competitive advantage, as it is favourable for companies engaged in cross border trade • Halton has an ample supply of land for future development

Skilled Labour Force • Halton has a well educated skilled labour force and has access to a large labour market • Its labour force is aligned with an innovation oriented economy

Beneficially, Highways 401 and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW)–403 connections to the west maintain Halton’s position at the centre of the GGH and the southern Ontario economy. At the same time, connections to the east on the QEW, Highways 407, 403 and 401 provide links to the centre of the GTA and Pearson International Airport • GO Transit also provides interregional public transit services • Excellent access to rail and airports

Halton has Experienced Strong Growth in Non-Residential Development As shown below, over the past 25 years, Halton has transformed from a place where non-residential permit value generally lagged, or paralleled those of the GTA, to one that is now consistently out-performing the GTA. Between 1999 and 2005, over 20 million square feet of non-residential floor space has been added in Halton. Some of the actions identified in the Economic Development Strategy include developing further incentives to attract targeted building types and to ensure the development of strategic locations.

Quality of Life • Halton is a community that is highly regarded for its quality of life • Halton has access to excellent health, educational and recreational facilities and post-secondary institutions • High quality housing and neighbourhoods • Economy has a diverse make-up • Halton is increasingly home to a diverse population

Industrial, Commercial Building Permit Values Indexed Figure 6

Transportation Access • Extensive 400 series highway network and excellent access to the provincial highway system.

1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 2: Competitive Business Environment Financial Factors Business cost factors such as municipal tax levels, land prices and office rents remain an important business consideration. These local cost factors play an important role in business start-up, expansion and relocation decisions. Local cost factors generally play a less critical role in international business location decisions. However, even for large multinational corporations, once a decision has been made to locate in a particular city-region, such as the GTA, local factors can be an important factor in determining the precise location of any new enterprise. As such, one of the focuses of the Economic Development Strategy is to ensure competitive positioning of Halton in the context of the GTA and the GGH. Halton’s employment land prices are lower than most of its GTA competitors. While the western GGH municipalities offer lower land prices and easier access to U.S. trade routes, Halton is much more centrally located, relative to Toronto, and has access to a larger labour and consumer market. While Halton has higher development charge rates and similar or slightly higher tax rates than most competing GTA markets for industrial and commercial development, their overall costs, taking into account land values,

development charges and property taxes, are very similar. From an overall development cost perspective, Halton is competitive with its competing GTA and western GGH communities. The following table reflects the analysis undertaken in the State of Halton’s Economy Report to compare total costs:

Overall Development Costs At Commercial Rate (Cost/ Square Foot)

At Industrial Rate (Cost/ Square Foot)

Burlington

7.88

8.93

Milton (HUSP)

8.11

9.11

Halton Hills (HUSP)

7.90

8.93

Oakville

8.31

9.40

Halton Average

8.05

9.09

Toronto

9.11

9.40

GTA Average*

8.61

8.90

GTGH Average **

7.50

8.45

Rates

* Includes Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton ** Includes Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Brantford, Hamilton, Guelph

Employment Land Prices – Halton and GTA $800,000 $700,000 $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 $100,000

Sources: RealTrack, “CBRE 4th Quarter Industrial Report” & “TREB 2005 GTA Industrial Areas & Values”

Figure 7

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

The business survey in the Economic Development Strategy consultation identified that Halton’s location and quality of life are its key strengths, while business cost factors are seen as a shortcoming. “Market optics” can play a role in a municipality’s ability to attract industrial/commercial development, if that municipality gains a reputation for being a “high cost” municipality. Higher property taxes and higher development charges than those in competing municipalities can be a factor in gaining this reputation. However, research has consistently shown that more important industrial location criteria include relative location of customers, suppliers, and employees, access to inter-regional expressways, local roads that can easily accommodate truck traffic, public transit access to business services, restaurants, and ancillary retail activities. While some of the specific costs factors that are controlled by the Region are slightly higher in some cases than the Region’s competitors, on a consolidated basis, the Region continues to offer a cost competitive environment for business investment and an environment with a high quality of life. Having said this, there continues to be opportunities to review specific Regional policies in areas where the Region tends to have higher costs than its competitors and to identify the costs/benefits of changes to the existing policies.

Goal 2A – Ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area Monitor the Region’s Financial Policies The Region is committed to periodically reviewing all financial policies that impact future development and the costs to existing businesses operating in Halton to ensure that the Region is competitive. The Region tracks key indicators and keeps Regional Council apprised about their implications. This commitment provides the vehicle for taking action should economic conditions in Halton or elsewhere change significantly. This includes monitoring key municipal cost factors in competing markets and reporting to Regional Council on where Halton stands in terms of its overall cost effectiveness and in respect of key items such as Development Charge rates, discounts and growth goals as well as property taxes.

Action 8 Undertake periodic reviews and benchmark-

The policies, programs, and procedures implemented throughout the Region can have important impacts on economic growth and should be directed in a consistent and unified manner to manage economic growth and support the strong quality of life of residents and businesses have within the Region.

ing of the major development fees charged by the Region and the Local Municipalities, and land and building costs within the Region, and report to Council on Halton Region’s cost position relative to other jurisdictions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area. Such reviews should include: • Total cost of non-residential development • Development charges • Industrial taxes • Water and wastewater charges • Other fees (planning, building permit)

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 2: Competitive Business Environment

Monitor Tax Policies Property taxes can be a significant component of annual operating costs for businesses. This is an area of focus as part of the overall objectives to improve the Region’s competitive position. Competitiveness of the Region’s property taxes was identified as the highest priority by the business community and experts in the economic development field to improve Halton’s economic development efforts. As part of the Economic Development Strategy, the Region will continue to ensure that a full review of tax policies is undertaken annually and is taking into account the competitive position of the non-residential community.

Action 9 Continue to review the Region’s industrial tax rate on an annual basis, or as the reassessment opportunities arise, with a view to consider lowering the industrial tax rate towards the

Maintaining Discounts and Deferrals for Non-Residential Development Charges (DCs) Municipalities compete to attract non-residential development to their communities because of the benefits of employment and assessment growth. Non-residential development generates benefits to a municipality well beyond additional tax and rate revenues which is why municipalities compete to attract development to their communities. These include: • Employment opportunities • Provision of goods and services locally • Spending for business facilities and operations • Employee spending on housing and food Financial and non-financial factors influence the decision-making process and the relative importance of each factor will vary from user to user depending on individual needs and conditions at the time of the decision. One factor that is included in the decisionmaking process is development charges (DCs). Development charges are part of the overall project cost and locational decision, and therefore may influence the decision to locate in one municipality versus another. Each company’s decision is the result of interplay of their own unique requirements, and market conditions.

lower commercial tax rate, while ensuring that the financial impacts on residential tax rates are minimized.

Research indicates that municipalities with lower DCs only benefit when other factors are virtually equal. However, it is not in the Region’s interest to have the highest DCs, due to the risk of losing development opportunities, as the non-residential market is extremely competitive. C.N. Watson and Associates Ltd. Development Charge Impact Policy Paper May 2004

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

“Studies undertaken in Halton indicated that were Halton to establish DCs that were noticeably higher than the rates in competing

Action 10

municipalities, from an economic development

Maintain the Region’s policy respecting non-

perspective, it might develop a reputation as

residential Development Charge discounts to

a high cost region.”

ensure the Region’s Development Charges are competitive with other municipalities in the

The Effect of Development Charge Discount

Greater Golden Horseshoe Area.

Policies on Competitiveness of the Halton Market, Hemson Consulting, April, 2002 As such, the Region currently provides development charge discounts for commercial and industrial development to maintain Halton’s competitive advantage in attracting new businesses beyond the mandated discounts required under the Development Charges Act. In approving these development incentives, Council’s objective was to strike a balance between recovering the cost of growth and remaining competitive with neighbouring municipalities. Halton Region provides for the deferral of payments of non-residential development charges which apply to all new developments (excluding subdivision and other development agreements), redevelopments and building expansions. Deferrals can be approved up to 10 years for any eligible non-residential development where the payments can be amortized over a period of up to 10 years.

Expanding DC Discounts Industrial development is the most significant concern of the three types of non-residential developments for most municipalities in DC by-law considerations, due, in large part, to the greater perceived benefits from this type of development (i.e. goods producing employment attracts additional service sector support jobs, has higher paying jobs and makes significant net tax contributions). As well, there is substantial competition among Ontario municipalities to attract new industrial investment which is frequently more “footloose” than commercial development. In addition, Ontario municipalities compete with U.S. cities which are able to provide incentives prohibited by Provincial legislation.

Action 11 Maintain the Region’s policy respecting the deferral of payment of non-residential Development Charges.

As well, some municipalities are concerned about DC policy affecting their ability to retain existing industries, and to encourage these industries to expand. In general, DCs represent a higher percentage of total costs for an industrial development than for any of the other nonresidential uses, as a result of their lower industrial land prices and construction costs. With respect to municipal DC practice, many municipalities have established a separate (lower) DC rate for this type of development. The research indicates that DCs are not likely to provide an adequate incentive for development on their own, however it can be effective as part of a suite of tools. The cost to existing ratepayers of providing such DC reductions should form part of Council’s consideration in making decisions about discounts/ exemptions, in the context of balancing the achievement of the planning objectives and the increased taxes/user rates which will result.

Encourage Office Nodes/Intensification The Province’s Places to Grow Plan identifies a number of urban growth centres in the GGH that are to serve as higher density major employment and population growth centres. Within Halton three designated Primary Nodes are identified as urban growth centres with a target density of 200 residents and jobs combined per hectare.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 2: Competitive Business Environment

The Province’s Plan also discusses the importance of designating major transit station areas and intensification corridors within municipal official plans. The concept of mixed-use, high density nodes is consistent with recent Provincial policy initiatives related to intensification. These areas are important as they will potentially provide additional employment land and office land supply for Halton and will contribute to improving the long term viability of Local Municipal transit within the Region. Realization of the planned levels of development for the nodes will require a significant amount of redevelopment to occur and many existing properties to be intensified. In order to achieve the required level of intensification and redevelopment a number of factors will have to be aligned appropriately. These include:

• Development and intensification potential will need to exceed the value of these uses in order to justify a change. • In Halton as in most parts of the GTA, business parks are the location type of choice since they offer straightforward greenfield sites large enough to accommodate surface parking, and are in clean modern surroundings. Such sites are therefore generally much more attractive to developers than redevelopment or intensification opportunities which usually involve much greater development challenges with few market advantages. • There need to be landowners who have both a willingness and an economic interest to redevelop their properties. Given the factors cited above, the development prospects for Halton’s nodes will in the absence of special factors or development incentives be long term in nature.

• Many of the designated nodes currently contain properties with viable and functioning industrial, retail or transportation-related uses.

Action 12 Investigate the impacts of additional Regional

Investigate the possibility and the impacts of

Development Charge discounts for expansions

providing increased Regional Development

of industrial (manufacturing) and concentrated

Charge discounts for office park concentrations

office uses in future Development Charges

in future Development Charges By-law updates

By-law updates to spur reinvestment, and to

to stimulate office development in Halton.

allow for intensification of employment areas.

Action 13

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Performance Indicators Ensure that the cost to develop and operate a business in Halton remains competitive within the Greater Golden Horseshoe area. • Annual report to Council comparing the Region’s competitive position compared to GTA/GGH municipalities • Number of firms taking advantage of deferral of payment of non-residential development charges • Number of non-residential building permits • Value of non-residential building permits • Ranking of non-residential building permit values versus peer municipalities in the GTA/GGH

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 3

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development Theme Introduction Human capital is an essential element of the knowledge based economy. From 1996–2001 Halton Region’s population increased by 10.4% from 339,875 to 375,229 compared to the provincial average of 6.1% over the same time period. Between 2001 and 2004, the Region experienced growth of 13.9%. This strong population growth was a major contributor to the Region’s economy.

Population Growth – Halton Region

1996

2001

Est. 2004

Increase 19962004

Oakville

128,405

144,738 166,769

29.9%

Burlington

136,976

150,836

171,354

25.1%

Halton Hills

42,390

49,184

55,751

31.5%

Milton

32,104

31,471

33,345

3.9%

375,229 427,219

25.7%

Total

339,875

Halton Region is projected to double in population between 2001 and 2031 and employment is expected to increase by approximately 105% in the same period. Aside from providing employment for Halton’s residents, employment also generates property taxes to pay for municipal services. This is one of the reasons for the need to balance population growth along with employment growth. With high levels of growth projected for Halton, there is a need to proactively support entrepreneurialism and skills development in the workforce. In a knowledge-based economy where the driving force is the intellectual capital, ingenuity, creativity and technical capabilities of the labour force, knowledge of skills development will be essential to maintain the strong economic growth currently enjoyed in the Region. This is one of the key strategic themes included in the Region’s Economic Development Strategy. High quality jobs generate wealth and investment and help develop quality of life within a community. Having a highly skilled and educated workforce has become a key competitive advantage for any region. One of the

Source: Halton Region, Planning and Transportation Services (Best Planning Estimates) and Statistics Canada

Forecast

Historic & Forecast Population, Halton Region Population (in 1000s)

Source: Hemson Consulting Ltd. & Statistics Canada

Figure 8

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Historic

essential prerequisites for sustainable economic prosperity and improved quality of life is ensuring that the right skills for the new knowledge economy are available. Ensuring that a labour force has the appropriate skills requires economic development entities to have strong networks and partnerships with organizations involved in education, skills development, innovation and entrepreneurship. As shown in Figure 9, the Region’s employment is largely based in the “Services Producing Industries” (67%). The four largest industries in this sector are wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, finance, insurance and real estate and professional, scientific and technical services. Services producing employment in Halton increased 40% from 1991 to 2001 compared with an increase of 23% in goods production. However, Halton’s goods producing sector remains significant as a key contributor to regional gross domestic product (GDP) and exports and it provides a strong link for Halton into global supply chains. In the Halton context, the innovation economy is truly epitomized by not only the information technology and bioscience industries but also by the goods producing, manufacturing sector. Today, economic growth is driven by knowledge, skills, innovation and entrepreneurship. Universities, colleges and other teaching facilities play an important role in training and developing the skilled talent needed to fuel innovation which leads to new products, an increase in productivity, the creation of new companies and jobs. With greater competition, the ability to create unique offerings through innovation and to bring these offerings to market quickly is vital for economic success. As a

Total Employment and Change – Goods and Services Producing Industries, Halton Region

Goods Producing

Services Producing

Source: Statistics Canada

Figure 9 result, there is a high value placed on entrepreneurship and the ability to marshal the skills, financing, and other components necessary to create business and economic growth. While traditional factors such as location, proximity to highways and readily available sites remain important in corporate location decisions, a strong, highly skilled labour pool is a pivotal factor in an innovation economy. A principal measure of labour force skill is educational attainment. Halton’s labour force by educational attainment stood out compared to Ontario averages. As shown in the following graph, close to two-thirds of Halton’s labour force has some form of post secondary education, which outpaces the Ontario average.

“Enterprises exist to create wealth. Creating wealth requires innovation. The source of all innovation is human capital.” Peter Drucker Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Educational Attainment – Labour Force Halton Region and Ontario

High School or Less

there continues to be a need to increase the number of positions available within the Region to reduce the level of out-commuting, particularly given the concerns identified by the existing business community in terms of traffic congestion. By supporting entrepreneurialism in the Region, there is the ability to increase employment opportunities across Halton.

Post Secondary

Figure 10

Source: Statistics Canada

An innovation economy requires higher skills to stay competitive, and ensuring that there is a proper balance of employability skills by cultivating a well-trained workforce and developing a coordinated labour strategy is an essential element for sustained economic vitality. The Region has a leadership role to play in fostering the conditions that will meet critical skill demands of business and industry to support both existing business and new investment. While Halton Region boasts a highly skilled labour force, many of these highly skilled workers commute out of the Region on a daily basis. And even though the Region has experienced strong growth in knowledge industries, there continues to be a shortage of employment opportunities available in Halton in areas such as professional, scientific, finance and technology services. A significant number of those who out-commute are in the professional and technical field and could fill the type of jobs that Halton needs to attract to secure its future prosperity. Therefore, while the Region has shown strong growth in knowledge industries and has a skilled workforce that is aligned to this sector,

Improving Halton’s live-work relationship is therefore an important goal. Actions to help achieve this goal would need to focus on developing jobs in industries and sectors that require the types of skills provided by members of Halton’s labour force who currently commute out. Equally, there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that the sizeable labour force that commutes into the Region for both the services and goods producing sectors has housing options within Halton. To that end, The Region recently adopted a Comprehensive Housing Strategy (CHS) that incorporates a series of policies and actions to ensure a variety of affordable housing types for Halton residents, regardless of income and stage of life.

Goal 3A – Encourage New Entrepreneurs, Start-up and Growing Businesses in Halton This goal recognizes the need to support entrepreneurialism to attract new targeted growth in employment within the Region and to ensure the success of new start-up businesses. The future of enterprise growth and job creation depends on a strong entrepreneurial culture and the Region can play a protective role to help them meet the challenges of competition in a global marketplace through entrepreneurial training programs, developing ways to identify future entrepreneurs, and recognizing success.

“The shortage of skilled labour is one of the fastest growing concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises.” Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 2006

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Through its existing Business Development Division, Halton Region provides workshops, seminars and training programs which are designed to provide information, advice and coaching on business development needs that are necessary to start up businesses and entrepreneurs. This is undertaken in collaboration with both private and public partners. During the course of the review, Economic Development experts identified the opportunity for the Region to strengthen the educational services for workforce training. Other recommended areas of focus included the need to create initiatives to increase entrepreneurship, especially in rapid growth companies that stimulate the development of high wage/value jobs.

Small Business Start-Ups While larger scale businesses are often geared to exports and bring new wealth into a region, small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) are responsible for generating the vast majority of jobs in a community. The quality, diversity and vitality of local SMEs is a good indicator of a Region’s overall economic and social well-being. Since most start-ups are initiated by local residents, activities and programs that foster entrepreneurship help maintain and expand the local economy. These entrepreneurs and innovators have to be convinced that Halton is where their ideas can germinate and create wealth. One way of viewing the composition of Halton’s economy is to consider the profile in terms of the number of enterprises by sector. This perspective provides a profile that emphasizes the importance of small business to the Region’s economy.

Employee Range 0-9

Among the distinguishing characteristics of Halton’s economic make-up are its diversity and its large number of enterprises. Halton has recently experienced significant growth in the number of enterprises. Between June 1999 and December 2003, the number of enterprises grew from 21,771 to 33,430, representing an increase of 53.6%. Growth in the number of enterprises reflects the dynamic and healthy nature of Halton’s economy. Enterprises with 1–9 employees, in fact, grew the most, demonstrating Halton’s entrepreneurial spirit. At the same time, the challenges facing small businesses both starting up and sustaining their growth are substantial as they tend to have few resources and limited specialized knowledge. Halton Region’s Business Development Division plays a role in helping address such challenges by providing a range of support services. The Division is seen as being helpful by economic development offices in the Local Municipalities as it provides a more substantial range of services than they would be capable of offering individually. Once businesses are established in Halton, economic development focus must shift to providing support for growth and expansion. The Local Municipalities play a key role in this area, particularly in terms of addressing ongoing issues that may arise and assisting businesses when physical expansions and relocation projects occur.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Recent studies from the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity have shown that Ontario faces both a

Enterprises 1999

Enterprises 2003

% Change

% of Total 2003

18,509

29,350

58.6%

87.8%

10-49

2,594

3,234

24.7%

9.7%

50-99

382

478

25.1%

1.4%

100-499

261

348

33.3%

1.0%

-20%

0.1%

21,771

33,430

53.6%

100.0%

500+ Total

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 3: Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

productivity gap and an innovation gap vis-à-vis peer states in the United States. One of the reasons that the innovation gap exists has to do with management skills, with the U.S. outpacing Ontario in this area. Senior levels of government have recognized this problem and have identified public policy responses to the dilemma including the Ontario government’s July 2006 announcement of the $46 million Market Readiness Program, which includes an early stage investment fund and a business mentorship and entrepreneurship program. The Region is uniquely positioned to be a leader in service delivery in this latter area, with the Business Development Division currently providing various services to entrepreneurs within the Region.

Action 14

The Region’s involvement in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation is strategic and necessary as the fostering of entrepreneurs and their innovations is absolutely critical to Halton’s ongoing success as a place where ideas take birth and blossom into fruition; a cornerstone of the Region evolving into an innovation economy.

Goal 3B – Provide Support to Business in Skills Development The function of research, education and training in economic development has become more prominent recently in response to growth in the knowledge based economy. More and more, business is forming strategic partnerships to ensure that the skills required to fulfill these sectors are

Action 17

Continue to enhance services offered through

Enhance the Access to Professionals mentoring

the Region’s Business Development Division

programs to guide less experienced business

including business registration and consulting

owners to success.

and coaching services.

Action 15

Action 18 Continue to work with networks linking angel

Increase the educational services offered

investors, venture capital, banks and other

through the Region’s Business Development

financing sources to new businesses and

Division including seminars in areas such

research to improve access to capital for new

as marketing, Internet/website development,

firms.

Starting a Small Business, Business Plan Development, Export development, management, finance and information technology and commercialization.

Action 19 Support the development and delivery of industry based training initiatives including cooperative

Action 16

to assist workers develop new skills and provide a

Continue to promote and support programs

positive transition from academia to work environ-

to stimulate youth entrepreneurship such as

ment, and to help low-income clients and foreign-

Summer Company and the Secondary School

trained professionals succeed in Halton.

Business Plan Competition.

programs and support of apprenticeship programs

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

available. As such, the Region will work with other public and private entities to promote policies and programs which encourage education, training, workforce development and basic and advanced/technology skills enhancement. Arguably the most effective way to increase employment at a Regional level is to promote employment creation among existing business. This will require the Region to play a lead role in researching and identifying the Region’s major economic drivers and emerging industries through regular research and consultation. By doing so, the Region, working closely with its Local Municipal partners, is better positioned to facilitate employment growth in “key sectors” through identifying local industry trends, skills required and facilitating the delivery of growth strategies. Halton Region provides a variety of training and support to start-up businesses and enterprises. Also, there are several workforce development organizations in Halton. There is a need for the Region to play a coordinating role to facilitate better forecasting of industry requirements, skills shortages and deficiencies within the Region, to advocate for more apprenticeship and skilled trades training and education, including programs for low-income clients and foreign-trained professionals, and to identify opportunities to attract and support new institutions of higher learning, research, management development and training. The Region has close links with Halton’s principal postsecondary education facility, Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, a leader in the field of digital media and elder care. Halton also works closely with McMaster University and plans are advancing with the City of Burlington to establish a satellite campus in Burlington. An Australian university, Charles Sturt, provides a Bachelor of Primary Education Studies program in Burlington in conjunction with the Halton School Boards. Halton also has access and ties to a wide range of institutions throughout the GTA and GGH. In addition to post-secondary institutions, there are several organizations within Halton that are dedicated to skills development, focusing particularly on employment opportunities that do not require university degree: • The Centre for Skills Development and Training • The Halton Industry Education Council, which links businesses and educators

Action 20 Work with the Halton Industry Education Council and other stakeholders to establish a labour market skills information system to facilitate better forecasting of industry requirements, skills shortages and deficiencies.

Performance Indicators Encourage New Entrepreneurs, Start-up and Growing Businesses in Halton • Take-up of Region’s Business Development Division services by businesses & individuals • Degree of change in perception of Halton within the business community

Provide Support to Business in Skills Development • Number of businesses assisted by the Business Development Division • Number of businesses that register at the Business Development Division • Participation rates at courses and seminars • Customer satisfaction rates for the Business Development Division’s courses and seminars • Number of youths participating in entrepreneurial programs – Summer Company and Business Plan Competition and provincial ranking vs. other enterprise centres • Number of business owners that attended mentoring programs • Number of entrepreneurs that have taken courses in commercialization and innovation development

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business Theme Introduction The success of any Economic Development Strategy relies on a common vision to initiate and facilitate broad regional opportunities that is implemented through mobilization of strategic partnerships. The success of the Region’s Economic Development Strategy will continue to rely on the Region maintaining existing partnerships as well as aligning new, broadbased partnerships to promote Halton’s economic development objectives. It is the Region’s intention to further build on the synergistic value of partnerships to reach out and successfully secure opportunities at all levels. A profound wealth of knowledge resources exist which must be effectively engaged to enhance the competitive position of the Region. Halton’s success will depend on forging economic partnerships that recognize the importance of all stakeholders, from business, labour, government, education, research centers, industry associations and community organizations. Alignment of the Economic Development Strategy with the support of these groups is critical to building on strengths, addressing barriers to growth and mobilizing resources. With increasing interaction of national economic systems all over the world, Halton’s economy is highly influenced by the impact of globalization. Globalization has an increasing impact on the way business functions at regional and global levels. Communities are seeking creative ways to accelerate their development, and strategic partnerships are a way to catalyze significant growth. Halton’s economic development programs, services and partnerships are designed to leverage resources, knowledge and expertise not only within the Region (with Local Municipalities, businesses and associations) but also

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

with other GTA municipalities, municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and the Provincial and Federal governments. Strategic partnerships to build capacity and support business can be undertaken in many forms and with many partners. The Region currently partners in order to: • Create advocacies and build capabilities in the community to attract new investment; • Leverage resources, knowledge, expertise, capabilities and funds for the betterment of all stakeholders; • Encourage skills development and link employers to a skilled workforce to improve workforce infrastructure; • Increase the profile of the Region; and • In conjunction with the Local Municipalities, support the expansion and growth of existing businesses.

Partnerships and Strategic Alliances within the Region The Region and Local Municipalities undertake partnership arrangements and strategic alliances with a wide variety of stakeholders sharing common interests (Figure 11).

Other Levels of Government In today’s highly competitive market, there is an increased need for the Region to take on a leadership role of a coordinating body to ensure that Halton is effectively positioned to respond to new growth related opportunities as well as to effectively service existing businesses. While the Region has been given a mandate for economic development, it is recognized that economic develop-

Partnerships & Strategic Alliances

Other Levels of Government

Provincial & Federal

Businesses and Community Associations

Halton Region and Local Municipalities

Development Industry, Chambers of Commerce, BIAs, sector interest groups such as tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, skills and education training

ment is a shared responsibility. Sharing best practices, building networks of support and open cooperation with Local Municipalities leads to community success. It is a long-held tradition in Halton that the two levels of municipal government work together to integrate their respective planning and economic development efforts. The integrated approach to economic development shown by the Region and the Local Municipalities is well received by other levels of government and the model of cooperation has resulted in positive economic results for Halton as a whole. Currently, the Local Municipal economic development offices in Halton provide investment marketing, attraction and business retention services. The Region provides support for these activities as well as providing entrepreneurial support services and skills development services that are applicable on a Region-wide basis or relate to Regional interests. Halton has a number of unique characteristics that make it a special location within the GTA/GGH. Halton’s economy is supported by a range of strong local businesses

Within the Broader Ontario Region Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and also the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH)

Figure 11

in both its rural and urban areas. Through collaboration and coordination of efforts, programs and services, the Region and the Local Municipal economic development offices effectively work together to achieve their respective economic goals and objectives. These include: • leveraging resources available from the Provincial and Federal Government, non-profit organizations and the private sector; • supporting local initiatives by providing business support services, site location support by coordinating infrastructure and servicing information and marketing and advertising, and sector development; • reviewing and receiving input from Local Municipalities in setting Regional policies, programs and strategies impacting competitive positioning such as planning, workforce, housing strategies, tax policies including development charges, water and sewer charges, transportation, social services, health, emergency services, police, education; and

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

• coordinating and aligning local and regional policies, programs and strategies in areas impacting economic development such as land use planning, infrastructure development and tax policies. All levels of government – Federal, Provincial and Municipal – need to reframe their thinking of Halton and make decisions and investments on the basis of their ability to advance the Region’s local attributes in a rapidly changing global marketplace. The Provincial and Federal governments have a significant influence through the activities of various Ministries and agencies that play a role in economic development at the regional level. Appendix B provides a summary of the role of the various Ministries and the relationship with the Region.

related economic development services, tourism, planning and industry. The objective of this partnership is to share and communicate information, collaborate on strategic activities and issues in all aspects of economic development, and support initiatives, which are beneficial to economic development in Halton. This committee meets a minimum of four times a year and is chaired by the Region’s Director, Business Development Division.

Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) A non-profit organization established to foster partnerships between industry, education and the community in Halton. The Council provides support for workforce development, career planning and a number of programs that connect industry, education and community.

Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee

Businesses & Community Associations The Region and Local Municipalities within Halton work collaboratively with various organizations including: • Chambers of Commerce • Industry associations • Non-profit organizations • Sector specific organizations • Universities, colleges and secondary education • Tourism • Agriculture • Community associations • Professional development groups Significant effort is taken to coordinate activities and to ensure effective service delivery to the business community.

Halton Economic Development Partnership (HEDP) Comprised of the four Local Municipal economic development offices, the four Chambers of Commerce, and the provincial representative for the Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MSBE) in Halton and, on an as-required basis, representatives from other

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

A volunteer Advisory Committee made up of representatives from Halton agricultural organizations, Halton Region and the general agricultural community who provide advice to Regional Council on matters affecting Halton’s agricultural sector. This Committee provides a means to address some of the issues and concerns of this diverse industry.

Within the Broader Ontario Region Halton Has Formed Many Strategic Alliances Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) A public-private partnership that serves as the key point of contact for businesses exploring opportunities in the GTA. The partnership brings together the 29 municipalities and regions in the GTA, the governments of Ontario and Canada, several non-profit organizations, and a broad cross section of private sector corporations. GTMA actively promotes the Greater Toronto Area internationally, and provides international client companies with professional assistance in evaluating, planning and implementing an expansion or move to the GTA.

Toronto Regional Research Alliance A non-profit organization with a mission to make the Toronto region a world-leading centre for research and research driven industry by: â&#x20AC;˘ Building public and private research capacity; â&#x20AC;˘ Enhancing the commercialization of research; â&#x20AC;˘ Attracting new research-intensive companies to the GTA and working to expand those already here.

Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Plan The Regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York, and the City of Toronto, in partnership with the GTA Federations of Agriculture, and with the support of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, prepared an Agricultural Action Plan to keep the GTA Agricultural industry competitive given the economic, land use and labour pressures faced by farmers.

Golden Horseshoe Materials and Manufacturing Network A network to support and promote a strong and thriving environment for the materials and manufacturing community in the Golden Horseshoe area. Established with leadership and participation from the Region and the private sector.

Business Information Technology Network (BitNet) Operates as an association of individuals, businesses and organizations with a common interest in the practical and innovative use and development of technology, to the benefit and prosperity of the Golden Horseshoe community. Halton Region is a sponsor of this organization.

Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum (GHVF) A non-profit organization supporting the development of emerging growth companies by creating an environment to provide access to financial, professional and technological resources. GHVF was established with leadership and participation from Halton Region and the private sector.

Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network (GHBN) A non-profit corporation encompassing Halton Region, the City of Hamilton, Region of Niagara, McMaster University, its affiliated research hospitals, municipal economic development agencies from the City of Hamilton, Halton and Niagara Regions as well as representatives from business, academia, hospitals and various levels of government. The network promotes the Golden Horseshoe Region of Ontario as a globally competitive bioscience cluster for the development and commercialization of innovative products, and a world class provider of services in areas of biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, health and medicine, bio-manufacturing and bioengineering technologies.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Halton Apprenticeship Advisory Council (HAAC)

Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME)

Created in December 1998 in response to the skilled labour shortage in Halton Region. Under the Halton Industry Education Council, HAAC is a community effort of business, education, government and labour to identify, communicate and resolve problems inherent in skilled labour shortage. HAAC was established in cooperation with the Halton Industry Education Council, with leadership and participation from the Region and the private sector.

Canada’s largest trade and industry association, CME promotes the continuous improvement of Canadian manufacturing and exporting through engagement of government at all levels. Its mandate is to promote the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturers and enable the success of Canadian goods and services exporters in markets around the world. Halton Region is a member.

Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) APMA is a national association headquartered in Toronto, which represents original equipment manufacturers of automotive parts, equipment, tools, supplies and services for the worldwide automotive industry. Halton Region is a member.

Action 21

Goal 4A – Maintain strong partnerships with Local Municipalities in the delivery of services to Halton’s businesses Halton Region and the Local Municipalities work collaboratively with various community and business related organizations including the Chambers

Action 23

Continue to participate and provide leadership

Improve the level of awareness and knowledge

to the Halton Economic Development Partner-

within the Region and Local Municipal eco-

ship, comprised of the Local Municipal eco-

nomic development regarding new government

nomic development offices and Chambers of

programs and initiatives at the Federal, Provin-

Commerce and the local Ontario MEDT/MSBE

cial, Regional levels, new legislation, approvals

representative.

or policies which will improve overall service delivery to Halton businesses.

Action 22 Continue liaison efforts by the Business

Action 24

Development Division with internal Regional

Enhance the availability of economic and

Departments and other levels of government to

competitive data and other tools for use by the

provide assistance in resolving issues faced by

Region and the Local Municipalities to promote

prospective and existing Halton businesses.

collaborative efforts and planning.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

of Commerce, industry associations, and other nonprofit organizations and community groups. The Region increasingly recognizes the key role of the non-profit and volunteer sector in economic development. The Chairman’s Roundtable on the Non-Profit and Volunteer sector is assessing the contributions and needs of this sector in Halton. Non-profit agencies contribute significantly to employment and the generation of services and products in the Region, and help to ensure that the Region will be economically prosperous from the perspective of all of our residents. It has been emphasized by participants in the consultation process that the achievement of the type of growth that will provide well-paid, long-term employment will increasingly depend upon leveraging skills, knowledge and resources of partnerships. In Halton, this is particularly true since responsibilities for economic development are shared between the Region and the Local Municipalities.

Goal 4B – Advocate to other levels of government to improve Ontario’s and Halton’s competitive position in the global marketplace

and encourage relevant authorities, institutions, and other levels of government to take action where inequities exist or the competitive position of the Region and/or Ontario is compromised. For example, a report released by the C.D. Howe Institute contends that Ontario cities spent $501 per capita on social services in 2005, compared with $56 in Nova Scotia, $14 in Quebec and $2 in British Columbia. In fact, Ontario is the only province in Canada that requires municipalities to cost share Social Assistance and to fund 100% of Social Housing costs. This impacts the ability of Ontario municipalities to compete on a national and international level. The Ontario Government also mandated a formula to share social programs costs across the GTA (GTA Pooling) which requires Halton to contribute, on average, $37 million annually to the City of Toronto toward their social program costs. This is a pressing issue that Halton must address from a cost competitive perspective.

The Region must continue to create awareness and bring pressure to bear where appropriate, and call on

The offloading of services to the local level by both senior governments, combined with continuing increased demands for services and infrastructure clearly threatens the future financial viability of the GTA Regions, including Halton. Across Ontario, there is a resulting $3 billion dollar gap between the costs that municipalities pay to fund Provincial health and social services programs, and the Province’s contributions to these programs. Locally, in communities across Ontario, the annual $3 billion gap translates to lost opportunity and deferred infrastructure investment.

Action 25

Action 26

Reduce Burden of Property Taxes for Business and Eliminate Infrastructure Gap

Continue to advocate to the Federal and Provin-

cial levels of government to provide for appro-

cial levels of government to provide adequate

priate funding and funding sources to support

and sustained funding to address the infrastruc-

government services in Ontario, in order to re-

ture gap faced by Municipalities in Ontario.

duce the burden of property taxes for business.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

One of the focuses of the Economic Development Strategy is improving transportation efficiency for workers and goods and improving the efficiency of key infrastructure by making strategic investments across the region. Within Halton there is likely to be an ongoing challenge of providing additional transportation capacity in a timely manner. This is a challenge faced by all regions in the GTA that are experiencing growth. The Region has a comprehensive infrastructure capital plan. However, reduced Provincial and Federal funding continue to require the Region to postpone some projects that would otherwise be undertaken, impacting the Region’s infrastructure. Basic “hard” urban infrastructure, such as roads, transit and piped services (water, sewers, etc.), are currently under-funded in the Province of Ontario which directly impacts the economic growth of the Province.

Action 27

Partner with the Ministries of Economic Development and Trade and Small Business & Entrepreneurship to Promote Halton Over 2,700 business names are registered annually in Halton, making it one of the top ten enterprise centres funded by the Government of Ontario, in terms of the number of business registrants. As a member of Ontario’s Network of Small Business Enterprise Centres, Halton Region, in partnership with the Provincial ministries provides support to start-up and small enterprises and encourages youth to become part of the business community. One of the objectives of these partnership arrangements is to promote Halton’s profile as a business location of choice and the strengths and capabilities of the Region’s Business Development Division.

Action 28

Maintain strong relationships with the Provin-

Enhance relationships with the Ontario

cial Ministries of Economic Development and

Ministry of Research and Innovation to en-

Trade and Small Business and Entrepreneur-

sure Halton is viewed as an integral part of

ship, to promote Halton’s profile as a business

the Province’s regional innovation networks,

location of choice and the strengths and capa-

and to ensure that the Region is informed of

bilities of the Region’s Business Development

emerging policy and a recipient of funding in

Division.

research and commercialization.

“In the highly competitive global economy of the 21st century, places that invest in innovation, that successfully tap into the creativity of people and market their ideas most effectively will be home to the most rewarding jobs, the strongest economies and the best quality of life.” Ministry of Research and Innovation, 2006

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Enhance Relationships with the Ministry of Research and Innovation

ship is integral to the Regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy evolving into an innovation oriented economy.

Becoming and remaining competitive today demands continually striving for excellence and embracing a strategy and practice of continuous innovation and learning. Continuous innovation, both in terms of products and production processes, provides a key competitive edge to companies and the Region.

The availability of financing for new business ventures, business expansions, risk and venture capital financing, research and development (both public and private sector) is essential to bring innovations to market. To help get new discoveries to market, the Ministry of Research and Innovation launched a four-year, $46-million Market Readiness Program which provides companies with financial support, training and management expertise. Through its participation with the Golden Horseshoe Innovation Network, the Business Development Division can assist businesses in understanding funding opportunities through this Ministry and deliver service directly.

The Region is committed to working with the Ministry of Research and Innovation to ensure that Halton is viewed as an integral part of the Provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regional innovation networks, and to ensure that the Region is informed of emerging policy and is a recipient of funding in research and commercialization, through the Golden Horseshoe Innovation Network. This relation-

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Action 29 Maintain relationships with key regional innovation networks, institutions and organizations within and outside the Region that can support Halton businesses, including, but not limited to: • Golden Horseshoe BioSciences Network • Golden Horseshoe Materials and Manufacturing Network • Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum • Innovators Alliance • BitNet • Toronto Regional Research Alliance

Action 30 Develop forums to facilitate dialogue between business, labour and universities and colleges to increase the competitiveness of Halton businesses.

Action 31 Enhance existing networks and other vehicles for information exchange between Halton companies in order to share learnings and best practices.

Action 32 Develop Halton’s linkages to public and private research organizations to increase innovation and the competitiveness of Halton’s businesses.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Goal 4C – Foster stronger links with education, training and innovation networks to support Halton businesses Achieving economic growth in today’s competitive environment will require Halton to leverage existing partnerships and build new ones. Local stakeholders play a critical role in enhancing competitiveness of municipalities to attract investment. This includes institutions that support innovation, commercialization, leadership thinking and behavior, as well as those that support cohesive locally based cooperation and action. As was identified during the background study phases, while Halton has Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, and the Ontario Campus of Charles Sturt University, it has the opportunity to continue to forge links with post-secondary institutions throughout the GTA and the GGH. Existing relationships with educational institutions need to be maintained, strengthened and expanded where new opportunities exist. The presence of Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and the potential establishment of a McMaster University Satellite Campus in Burlington are key in the facilitation of a number of partnerships, spinoff companies, technology transfers, co-op student and graduate placements that result in a substantial transfer of technological and intellectual resources and resulting economic benefit.

The Province encourages linkages between communities in order to create regional innovation networks. The Golden Horseshoe Bioscience Network encompassing Halton Region, the City of Hamilton, Region of Niagara, McMaster University, its affiliated research hospitals, municipal economic development agencies from the City of Hamilton, Halton and Niagara Regions as well as representatives from business, academia, hospitals and various levels of government is one of eleven regional innovation networks across Ontario. Further, the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funding program for community investment support for the areas of business attraction and retention also encourages inter and intra-regional partnerships and cooperation. Given the importance, benefits and merits of cooperation within urban economies, it is imperative that the Region play a leadership role in this collaborative and complementary approach to economic development.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 4: Strategic Partnerships to Support Business Goal 4D – Support economic development partnership initiatives within Halton that support Regional priorities The Region must be the steward of the local economy and work with community partners to ensure that the greatest value is yielded from the community’s resources and that human potential and productivity are supported by the economy.

Opportunities exist for Halton Region to expand partnerships and participate in new initiatives that support and promote economic growth in the Region. It is recommended that the Region investigate committing funding that could support partnerships and be invested in economic development opportunities throughout Halton Region. Those initiatives would be beyond the Region’s ongoing responsibilities to provide infrastructure to support its direct service delivery, such as water and wastewater. The recommended investment fund would support initiatives that promote the objectives of the Region’s Economic Development Strategy.

The Region has a successful track record of commencing and participating in partnership initiatives that benefit the community.

Action 33 Investigate, in conjunction with the Local Municipalities, the establishment of a Regional Economic Development Investment Fund to support partnership initiatives which address strategic Regional priorities. In investigating and reporting to Council on this matter, consideration would be given to establishing the fund based on the following principles: • That the fund would be restricted to projects/ initiatives with demonstrable, long term, Region-wide benefits; • That Halton Region have appropriate representation in the formation and delivery of the project/initiative; • That Halton Region’s role throughout the process would be duly recognized;

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

• That the project/initiative could include, but not be limited to, the construction, renewal or expansion of community public infrastructure (i.e. capital assets in Halton for public use or benefit which are important to the overall economic development of the Region); • The project/initiative be supported by a business case that is comprehensive, credible and feasible for Council’s consideration; • That to be eligible for funding, the project/ initiative would have to demonstrate: • That it has broad support within both the Local Municipality and within Halton Region; • Its direct and indirect economic development impacts within Halton Region; • That it fosters alliances between the public and private sectors; and • How it addresses strategic Halton Region priorities.

Performance Indicators Maintain strong partnerships with Local Municipalities in the delivery of services to Halton’s businesses • Number of “assists” wherein Region Business Development Division officials assisted in local business expansions, new investment opportunities with Local Municipalities • Number of local initiatives of the Local Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, supported by the Region’s Business Development Division

Foster strong links with education, training and innovation networks to support Halton Businesses • Number of firms participating in forums • Satisfaction level of firms participating in forums • Number of apprenticeship and skills training sessions for Halton businesses and customers satisfaction ratings

Advocate to other levels of government to improve Ontario’s and Halton’s competitive position in the global marketplace

Support economic development partnership initiatives within Halton that support Regional priorities

• Number of firms and organizations and amount of funding received from Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and/or Ministry of Research and Innovation

• Number and value of projects involving the Regional Economic Development Investment Fund • Payback on the Regional Economic Development Investment Fund (% amount, time frame for payback)

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5

Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity Theme Introduction In the next 25 years, Halton has the potential to become a favoured location for business in the GTA and Greater Golden Horseshoe area. Three key advantages will enable Halton to capture a very significant share of the growth in what is Canada’s largest economic region. These advantages are: • an ample potential supply of employment land; • the ability to provide water and wastewater services; and • a strategically favoured location on the west side of the Greater Toronto Area. Halton has continued to grow in size and importance at the western edge of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). While to date, economic activity has been concentrated in the southern part of Halton, in future, growth will occur to a greater extent in the northern economic centres. This is due to the availability of well located vacant land in the north and a more limited available supply in the south. Having an ample supply of land also enhances the price competitiveness of Halton since it helps avoid land cost premiums that arise when sites are in short supply. Ensuring the availability of competitive sites and buildings to support growth and expansion was identified as one of the most important factors for strengthening Halton’s economy, both in the surveys of businesses that were conducted during the Economic Development Strategy process and by those in Halton who are involved in economic development related work. In addition to

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

ensuring an adequate supply of suitable land, the Region, as part of its Economic Development Strategy identified opportunities to implement programs and strategies to support economic growth in key areas of Halton as well as to meet specific intensification efforts associated with the Region’s Official Plan and Provincial initiatives. While “soft infrastructure” such as education and the availability of health care institutions and cultural amenities play a critical role in the economy, hard or physical infrastructure is still a basic requirement to a competitive local economy. This is an area of strength for Halton in that all key infrastructure elements are either already available or there are plans being made to provide them. As with all municipalities, financing infrastructure is a challenge for Halton Region, but the Region is better positioned to provide water and wastewater services over the long term than several of its competitors because it has direct access to Lake Ontario. Infrastructure will continue to play an essential role in the development of Halton’s economy and is one of the focuses of this theme. Halton enjoys a favourable location and is served by an extensive network of highways. However, GTA traffic congestion is a growing concern and was identified by businesses as a significant strategic issue affecting Halton’s business success. A series of actions addressing transportation infrastructure have been included in the Economic Development Strategy to acknowledge the economic development interest in the Regional transportation network. As well, advocacy work concerning the provincial road network and investment in the GO Transit system will be undertaken.

Goal 5A – Maintain an adequate supply of serviced industrial/commercial land to support economic growth Halton’s delivery of an adequate supply of appropriately designated land to match its growth potential is clearly an important objective for the Economic Development Strategy. As has been emphasized many times during the Economic Development Strategy process, Halton’s growth depends to a high degree on delivering serviced land to accommodate businesses. The actions associated with this first goal are directed towards meeting the need. There is the need for designation of employment lands to be sufficient to ensure a competitive well-functioning land market with a range of choices available to prospective users. Protecting non-residential designated land is important, especially where there are pressures to re-designate to residential uses. The emerging Provincial policy is providing direction to Halton Region on the matter of additional designations. In particular, the Greenbelt Plan defines the remaining rural areas (south of the Niagara Escarpment) where there is potential for additional urban employment lands. At the same time, the Places to Grow Plan and other policies seek more intensive use of existing urban lands.

Halton Region is taking a leadership role in defining its future by undertaking the Durable Halton Plan, a plan designed to build the Region’s future. Halton is the first municipality in the GGH to initiate conformity exercises of this scale for the Provincial Growth and Greenbelt plans. A major focus of the Durable Halton Plan is to determine how much of Halton’s remaining rural lands (outside the Greenbelt Plan) should be made available for future urban development, including employment lands. For land that is already designated, actions are proposed to ensure that priority is given to servicing of nonresidential land and to reviewing the plans for financing the services. The Region has shown leadership by developing innovative financial plans for development, which have allowed non-residential lands to be serviced while minimizing the front-end financing requirements from the non-residential developers, and at the same time minimizing impacts to the developers. To facilitate those financial plans, an infrastructure investment fund has been established and is used strategically to support non-residential development and economic growth. The most significant example is the Region’s $20 million investment in the Halton Urban Structure Plan (HUSP), a financing plan to support non-residential development in Milton and the Highway 401 Corridor.

By focusing on areas where our capacity to service new development already exists or can be most efficiently provided, we will build vibrant communities where the services people need daily are close at hand. Places to Grow Act, 2005 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Action 34

Action 37

Give priority to the timely delivery of servicing

Develop, in partnership with the Local

for non-residential lands in the Region’s Water

Municipalities, an integrated planning

and Wastewater Master Plan reviews, in context

approach to ensure that employment lands,

of planning and financial objectives.

within each of the Local Municipalities, are located so as to be easily serviced in conjunc-

Action 35 Minimize the requirement for front-end

tion with residential lands and that servicing allocation policies protect the timely delivery of non-residential lands.

financing of non-residential development through the continued strategic application of the Region’s infrastructure investment fund

Action 38

and maximize the financing requirements

Develop, in partnership with the Local

from residential development in the Region’s

Municipalities, policies to protect land-use

development financing plans.

planning designations on existing designated employment lands, within each of the

Action 36 Review future requirements of the Region’s

Local Municipalities, taking advantage of new planning policies and planning powers being implemented by the Province.

infrastructure investment fund to enhance the timely development of non-residential, employment lands.

Action 39 Plan, through the Durable Halton process, for sufficient well-located employment land designations to meet the needs of the Region and each of the Local Municipalities to 2031, including a sufficient vacant land supply to provide for choice, competition, and flexibility in the land market to 2031.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Goal 5B – Implement programs and strategies to support economic growth in key corridors and sectors for Halton Key Corridors The 400 Series highways and their interchanges within Halton have significant potential for the development and intensification of commercial/industrial concentrations. Highway corridor locations provide businesses with visibility, convenience and ready access to markets and labour, and they are sought after by office users. There are opportunities for the Region and the Local Municipalities to capitalize on the high demand for these corridor locations throughout the Region. It is proposed that the Region and the Local Municipalities develop strategies to maximize the economic benefits of these key locations.

Action 40 Create strategies for non-residential, non-retail development in the key highway corridors in partnership with the Local Municipalities to maximize the economic benefits of these key locations.

Action 41 Develop and maintain an economic knowledge database including economic indicators and database relevant to key sectors to support the development of economic strategies and programs for the Region, the Local Municipalities and other stakeholders.

Action 42

Information

Maintain, in partnership with the Local

Quality and well-organized information is a key underpinning for economic development. Moving to the use of a more sophisticated common tracking information system will provide complete and consistent information across Halton to support decision-making and identify opportunities. The system will include:

available competitive business sites and build-

• monitoring trends in industries and sectors that are of importance to Halton’s economy; • tracking opportunities for prospective business investment in the Region; • providing economic indicators to support key sectors; and • providing information on the availability of competitive business sites and buildings.

Municipalities, an inventory of immediately ings across Halton to facilitate expansions and new business investment.

Action 43 Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, a database supported by a high quality business and industry information tracking system that allows detailed analysis of the dynamics of the Halton business community.

Action 44 Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, a system to track investment opportunities including key data to support follow-up and analysis of successes, trends and issues identified.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Sector Support Phases I and II of the Economic Development Strategy included a thorough analysis of Halton Region’s economic base. One of the important findings, and one which is a positive for the Region, is that no particular economic sector dominates the regional economy. While the argument can be made that Halton’s economy is underpinned by a strong, vibrant manufacturing sector, more recently there has been a rapid rise in the growth of the services producing sector and innovation-oriented industries in Halton. Consultations with the Local Municipalities in Halton and other economic development agencies suggested that because of the Region’s economic diversity, a broadbased approach to economic development, rather than a narrowly focused sector approach may be the most appropriate model for investment attraction and business retention in Halton. It is important to note, however, that the Region and the Local Municipalities are involved in certain strategic partnerships that intersect with particular industrial sectors. The Region’s involvement with the Golden Horseshoe

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Biosciences Network gives it an interface with the life sciences sector, BitNet is a conduit to the information communications technology sector and the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association gives the Region involvement with the automotive parts sector. Further, consultations between the Region and the economic development offices of the Local Municipalities suggest that it is important to keep the door open to potential future sector specific initiatives, as economic circumstances change or as new investment markets and opportunities arise. Two sectors, Agriculture and Tourism, are highlighted in this report, as they have been previously emphasized in the Halton Region Strategic Plan. The Region’s involvement with these two sectors speaks to the partnership approach to economic development within Halton. The Region has a longstanding association with the agricultural community and has an advisory committee to Regional Council (Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee). While tourism services are delivered at the local level, the Region is assisting local efforts by conducting a Region-wide inventory of Halton’s tourism assets (the Premier-ranked Tourist Destinations Program) which will be complete in 2007.

Support of Agricultural Growth Initiatives Agriculture plays a role in Halton’s economic base. In 2001 Halton had: • 400 km2 of farmland area (40% of total land area); • 855 farm operators; • 619 farms; • $141 million in total farm revenues; and • $1 billion in total farm capital value. The future of the agricultural sector in Halton and the rest of the GTA is being defined through the Greater Toronto Agricultural Action Plan. The plan will assist in the identification of specific economic development actions for Halton Region to consider. This agricultural action plan was developed to optimize the opportunities and address the challenges facing the agricultural industry across the GTA. The Regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York have been working with the GTA Federations of Agriculture, the Ontario Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), the City of Toronto and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), to develop a program to keep the agricultural industry in the GTA competitive, given the economic, land use and labour pressures faced by farmers. The guiding principles of the GTA Agricultural Action Plan are: • The Action Plan represents a shared vision with shared actions to be undertaken by the agricultural industry and all levels of government. • Agriculture must be financially sustainable to enable the current and future generations of farmers to continue farming. • Farmland value must be protected and supported through public policy and programs. • GTA agriculture is distinct and its unique strengths must be capitalized on and marketed. • The agricultural community must ally itself with consumers to create a strong political voice.

Action 45 Continue to work closely with the Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Greater Toronto Agricultural Action Plan on initiatives that promote the continued viability of agriculture and agribusiness in Halton, operating both within and outside the urban shadow.

Action 46 Complete the Premier-ranked Tourist Destinations Project and database in conjunction with Halton’s tourism stakeholders and report to Council on the findings of the project in 2007.

The GTA Agricultural Action Plan provides a GTA-wide framework with identified implementable directions and clear actions in the areas of Economic Development, education and Marketing and Land Use Planning to keep the GTA agricultural industry competitive. In June 2005, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced funding of $800,000 collectively for the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel and York to help strengthen the agricultural industry across Ontario’s Greenbelt. This funding will support the implementation of the GTA Agricultural Action Plan. The plan’s priority objectives include ensuring the financial viability of the industry, promoting increased sales of locally grown products, supporting young farmers and conducting workshops on farm business management.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Support Tourism Initiatives

Foster Programs to Expand Export Capacity

Halton Region launched its Premier-ranked Tourist Destinations (PRTD) Project which aims to classify and categorize the tourism assets and infrastructure in Halton, and will result in a plan to develop and capitalize on these assets for new and existing markets over the long term. The PRTD Project will help identify what these assets are, and how they can fit into and enhance Halton’s overall economic makeup and that of the Local Municipalities. This project has the support of Service Canada, the Ministry of Tourism and local partners so as to facilitate a true collaborative approach to our economic well-being.

An expanding export base benefits the whole economy. Export-oriented growth brings new revenue and wealth into a region, generating demand in other sectors.

Based on the outcomes of the PRTD Project, a final report will be prepared in spring 2007 outlining Halton’s tourism strengths, any gaps in tourism service and potential partnership opportunities between public and private partners. The PRTD Project is being led by a Steering Committee made up of representatives from Halton Region, Tourism Burlington, Oakville Economic Development Alliance, the Milton Chamber of Commerce and the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce. The project is being coordinated through Halton Region’s Business Development Division. It is designed to culminate in the development of a strategic action plan for tourism to improve the Region’s performance in the tourism marketplace and incorporate findings in strategic documents pertaining to economic drivers in Halton Region. Once the PRTD work has been completed, the database will be available for use by tourism industry partners, such as operators, organizations, academics, economic development and planning departments, to develop new partnerships and products, ensure necessary infrastructure improvements, and supply the most up-to-date information to investors interested in making Halton their first choice for new tourism developments.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Value of Exports, Halton Businesses, 2003 Rank

Country

Total Exports ($)

United States

United Kingdom

91,664,674

Japan

88,645,037

Mexico

49,712,262

Germany

44,631,630

South Africa

40,666,436

Netherlands

24,848,641

China

23,358,561

Australia

22,856,485

Chile

20,042,854

4,199,780,514

Source: Statistics Canada

The above table summarizes the value of the exports from Halton businesses by destination country in 2003. While the U.S. accounts for a large share of the export market, Halton businesses are exporting products globally. With more than 1,100 companies engaged in exports, Halton had total exports of $5.07 billion in 2003. Halton has over 70% of its jobs in industries with a strong national and international market orientation. Exports are therefore important to Halton’s businesses. While larger companies have the resources and experience to develop exports, those that are new to the field or are small are not as well positioned. As such, the Business Development Division will continue to provide support services for businesses that are trying to start or expand their export activities. Providing these services at the Regional level is efficient as it concentrates resources and experience.

Because Halton and the GTA economies are so heavily tied to Canada’s manufacturing-based export industry, several national and global challenges were considered in developing Halton Region’s Economic Development Strategy: • Increased competition from emerging economies, especially China and India, is already a significant challenge to many manufacturers now and will become more so in the future. • Rising energy prices are a challenge for many Ontario industries, though they also affect most of the Province’s competitor jurisdictions. The most worrisome impact is the potential effect on the U.S. economy, which is by far Ontario’s most important market. • A rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, while lowering the cost of imports, also reduces the cost advantage of Ontario manufacturers relative to competitors in the U.S.

Action 47 Develop and implement programs to expand the export capacity and export potential of businesses in Halton.

Action 48 Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, an incentive program to support intensification of non-residential, non-retail development based on secondary plans in designated regional nodes and secondary nodes and corridors identified in the Local Municipal Official Plans.

Halton Exports by Industry 2003

$ Millions Source: Statistics Canada

Figure 12

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity Goal 5C – Provide incentives for economic growth which meet the objectives of the Province’s Places to Grow Plan and the Halton Region Official Plan Investigate, in Partnership with Local Municipalities, Community Improvement Plans The intensification through higher density development and redevelopment is a shared planning objective of the Province, Halton Region and the Local Municipalities. In Halton, intensification has been identified as especially important in nodes and corridors. However, as was reviewed in the study background report, achievement of these objectives under current markets, and the existing level of transportation services, is very difficult. Financial incentives can improve the financial viability of intensification and redevelopment projects. Currently, municipalities can designate community improvement project areas and adopt community improvement plans to facilitate the rehabilitation of the designated areas. Within the framework of an official plan and a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) which has been approved by the Province, a municipality may:

Action 49 Develop, in partnership with the Local Municipalities, an incentive program to support re-development of brownfield sites for employment uses.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

• Acquire, hold, clear, grade or otherwise prepare land for community improvement; • Construct, repair, rehabilitate or improve buildings on land acquired or already held by it; • Sell, lease or dispose of buildings and/or land; • Make grants or loans to owners and/or tenants for the cost of rehabilitation. Among other financial incentive options that can be used within a CIP area are Tax Increment Grant programs. These property tax incentives can be provided to individual projects. Halton Region, working with the Local Municipalities, will continue to investigate the opportunities and changes in associated legislation to determine how financial incentives may play a role in achieving intensification targets. This will be a focus throughout the Durable Halton planning process.

Develop a Brownfield Program in Partnership with Local Municipalities Most often brownfield sites are properties formerly occupied by industrial or commercial uses that have remained underutilized or vacant for extended periods of time. Brownfields face a number of redevelopment challenges including the presence or the perception of on-site contamination, lack of demonstrated market demand and potential liability issues. Brownfield sites often occupy prominent locations in their respective municipal industrial areas and provide additional employment land supply once they have been remediated. Most of Halton’s industrial areas have been developed within the last 30 years and as such, there are relatively few brownfield sites compared to older industrial centres such as Hamilton, Toronto and Kitchener. The Region maintains a database of all potentially contaminated sites based on available historic information.

The Region is aware of a limited number of brownfield sites within the older employment areas of Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills, which are underway or may require more extensive remediation.

â&#x20AC;&#x192; Action 50 Ensure, through the Transportation Master

Since Halton as a whole does not have a large number of brownfield areas, they are not a source of significant potential additional land supply. However, for individual communities, they can be very significant. Many communities in Ontario are developing incentive programs to assist in the redevelopment of brownfield sites. Halton Region and the Local Municipalities are currently restricted, by legislation, in what they are permitted to do in this area. However, pending legislation, if passed, would enable Halton Region to become more involved in providing incentive programs. In addition to programs under the community improvement areas, for brownfield rehabilitation, programs can also be developed under the provisions of the Brownfields Financial Tax Incentive Program. In Halton, the major brownfield site in Acton would be a prime candidate for a CIP area.

Plan review, that goods movement, the accommodation of non-residential growth and transit facilities are given appropriate priority on the Regional road network.

â&#x20AC;&#x192; Action 51 Ensure the financing plan for transportation infrastructure provides for the timely delivery of the required infrastructure.

â&#x20AC;&#x192; Action 52 Advocate to the Province regarding the timing of and priorities for highway funding to ensure gridlock on the highways is not a threat to economic development in Halton.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Theme 5: Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity Goal 5D – Ensure that the transportation infrastructure in Halton supports economic growth Ensure Appropriate Priority for Goods Movement Roads are the most important component of transportation infrastructure in today’s economy. Halton is served by the inter-regional highway network. It has access to the QEW in the south and Highway 401 in the north and highway 403 in the east and west. It also has the benefit of Highway 407 which links the north to south. Within Halton, the Provincial highway network is complemented and supported by the municipal arterial road system.

Action 53 Advocate to the Province regarding sustainable funding to support the expansion of GO Transit services in Halton.

Action 54 Advocate to both Federal and Provincial governments for permanent sustainable funding for transportation infrastructure including seeking a permanent, increased commitment to the gas tax funding.

The Provincial Places to Grow Plan has recognized the importance of providing economic transportation corridors for the movement of goods and people. There are two new potential transportation corridors within the Plan. The GTA to Niagara Corridor would provide a multi-modal transportation corridor from the Western GTA to the border at Fort Erie through Hamilton and Niagara Region. The GTA West Corridor would connect York Region to the Guelph/Waterloo Region area and could potentially include additional north-south connections to the existing highway network within Peel and Halton Regions. Within Halton there will be an ongoing challenge of providing additional transportation capacity in a timely manner. This is a challenge faced by all regions in the GTA that are experiencing growth. However, it is a contrast to the situation in some of the smaller communities elsewhere in the GGH which have not seen such significant growth pressures. In 2004, Halton Region prepared a Transportation Master Plan that contained both an infrastructure and financing plan. The purpose of the Halton Transportation Master Plan (HTMP) study was to develop a dynamic integrated transportation strategy that considers all modes of travel. The study provides the Region with the strategies, policies and tools needed to manage traffic safely, effectively and cost efficiently, and to offer a range of transportation choices to meet the needs of Halton residents in

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

conformity with Halton’s responsibilities as set out in the Halton Region Official Plan and the Halton Region Strategic Plan. Halton Region is continuing its practice of public consultation through the establishment of a Transportation Advisory Committee to provide the Region with advice on transportation issues related to Provincial transportation initiatives being undertaken within Halton and throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe that may impact the community. The establishment of the Transportation Advisory Committee ensures that there is a formal mechanism through which the Province can engage Halton residents.

GO Transit Since 2001, the Regions of Peel, Halton, Durham and York along with the cities of Toronto and Hamilton (GTA/H municipalities) have been collectively financing a portion of GO Transit’s growth capital budget. Costs of the growth capital program are split between the Federal, Provincial and GTA/H municipality governments with each of the three levels contributing a 1/3 share. Since 2001, GO’s 10-year growth capital budget has increased by about 50% and now equals $1.5 billion

Performance Indicators Maintain an adequate supply of serviced industrial/commercial land to support economic growth • Number of projects taking advantage of front-end financing • Acreage of serviced industrial land available for development in each Local Municipality and for the Region as a whole

Implement programs and strategies to support economic growth in key corridors and sectors for Halton • Number of firms and sites listed in the database of available competitive business sites and buildings • Timely implementation of activities in the agricultural sector • Completion of Premier-ranked Tourist Destinations Project in spring 2007

for 2005–2014. This is a significant financial obligation for the GTA/H municipalities and is not sustainable.

Advocate for Ongoing Gas Tax Revenues to Address Infrastructure Deficits The intention of the Federal Gas Tax Initiative is to provide Ontario communities with a source of stable, predictable and long-term funding towards environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure projects which support the environment objectives/outcomes of cleaner water, cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Provide incentives for economic growth which meet the objectives of Places to Grow and the Halton Region Official Plan • If a brownfield incentive program is established, the number of applications taking advantage of the program

Ensure that the transportation infrastructure in Halton supports economic growth

• Required transportation infrastructure included in capital budget

However, there is currently no ongoing Federal funding commitment beyond 2009/10. The Provincial Government also committed in 2004 to provide two cents of the existing provincial gas tax revenue to municipalities for public transit, beginning with one cent in 2004 and this moved to two cents in 2006. While the Federal and Provincial Gas Tax funding is a start towards addressing the infrastructure gap experienced in Ontario municipalities including Halton, it is essential that the gas tax program be extended beyond the current commitment from the Federal government.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Appendices

Appendix A and B

1 2 3

Halton – A Location of Choice for Business

• To ensure the provision of necessary information and related services to assist and encourage new businesses to locate, and existing businesses to remain and expand, in Halton • To coordinate, and seek to simplify, government programs, policies, regulations and plans to facilitate economic development • To promote and support the tourism industry in Halton, including hospitality, attractions, festivals, events, transportation, recreation and retail activities

Competitive Business Environment

• To increase and broaden the economic base of Halton • To maintain an up-to-date inventory of vacant employment lands and buildings • To maintain and publish annually an up-to-date directory of businesses in Halton

Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

• To continuously increase the knowledge base and skill level of Halton’s labour force in response to a changing global economy • To increase job opportunities and diversity for existing and future labour forces within Halton • To support the continuous education and training of Halton’s labour force • To recognize the importance of the contribution by small businesses to the local economy and support plans and programs to maintain and strengthen their role

Appendix A:

Alignment of Economic Development Strategic Themes with the Halton Region Official Plan

Strategic Partnerships to Support Business

Planning for Economic Growth and Prosperity

• To forge strong links among the business, government and education sectors in support of a healthy, sustainable economy • To encourage the establishment of regular liaison and discussion between the heads of Regional and Municipal Councils in Halton and representatives of the business community • To participate with municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area in the development of strategies, plans and programs to promote the Greater Toronto Area as a large urban economy with diversification, vitality and competitiveness

• To provide necessary infrastructure, as permitted by the Region’s financial capability, in support of economic development • To promote a greater match by type between employment and residential growth • To specify employment targets by type in response to global and regional economic trends • To monitor housing supply and employment categories in Halton to ensure that labour forces employed in Halton can find affordable housing accommodation locally • To promote Halton as a tourist and recreational destination for both its own residents and outside visitors

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Appendix A and B

Appendix A:

Alignment of Economic Development Strategic Themes with the Halton Region Strategic Plan – A Location of 1 Halton Choice for Business

• Create an environment to retain and attract businesses that are strategic to Regional interests

• Preserve and enhance Halton’s fiscal foundation, while maintaining affordable municipal tax rates

Competitive Business Environment

3 Supporting Entrepreneurialism & Skills Development

• Create and nurture additional local employment opportunities so that residents can live and work in Halton • Encourage professionals and skilled workers to live and work in Halton

Partnerships 4 Strategic to Support Business

• Work toward ensuring that other orders of government strengthen their partnership with the municipal order of government

for Economic 5 Planning Growth and Prosperity

• Control and monitor growth in accordance with the Official Plan • Plan a transportation system for Halton residents and businesses within a safe, well-managed network for all methods of transportation that is sensitive to the needs of seniors, youths and residents with special needs, and is coordinated with the surrounding regions • Promote the continued viability of agriculture in Halton • Optimize new and existing infrastructure and investigate innovative solutions to meet future needs

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Appendix B:

Partnering with Provincial and Federal Ministries and Agencies Ministry/Agency

Role

Strategic Themes Comments on Relationship with Region Impacted

Economic Development and Trade (MEDT)

Responsible for promoting economic growth within Ontario â&#x20AC;&#x201C; act as a catalyst for innovation, promote investment, and encourage trade development and exports to world markets. Takes a leadership role on urban and regional economic development issues through research and co-ordination of efforts.

Halton Region and the Local Municipalities work with MEDT to promote Haltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile as a business location of choice, investment attraction and business retention. Also provide support to Ministry efforts in international awareness building by highlighting companies and success stories across the Region.

Themes 1-5

Research and Innovation (MRI)

Established to ensure that Ontario has a focused approach to competing and winning in the marketplace of ideas. The Ministry is focused on strengthening Ontario as a leading, innovation-based economy and society where innovative thinkers can flourish and innovative ideas are rewarded.

Ensure that Halton is viewed as an integral part of the Provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Regional Innovation Networks, and to ensure that the Region is informed of emerging policy and funding priorities in research and commercialization. Region is a sponsor and participant of the Greater Horseshoe BioSciences Network. Will work with partners in areas of assistance to entrepreneurs in commercialization and innovation development.

Theme 3

Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MSBE)

Newly formed Ministry is dedicated to providing assistance to small business across Ontario, and funds regional Enterprise Centres across the province and programs for youth, innovative businesses among others.

Halton Region Business Development Division receives funding from the Ministry for the operation of the centre and for youth entrepreneurial programs such as Summer Company and Business Plan Competition.

Theme 3

Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH)

Responsible for managing four major areas: affordable housing, local government, land use planning, building regulation.

Issues pertaining to Local Service Realignment, GTA Pooling are directed to this Ministry. Administers key Acts including Development Charges Act, Planning Act, Municipal Act.

Theme 1, 2, 5

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Appendix A and B

Strategic Themes Comments on Relationship with Region Impacted

Ministry/Agency

Role

Finance (MOF)

The Ontario Ministry of Finance is responsible for establishing the majority of the regulations governing reassessment and tax policy. This Ministry sets the overall policies and has the final decision for any assessment-related issues. The Ministry of Finance is also responsible for setting education tax rates.

Issues pertaining to business education property taxes, development charge policy among others

Themes 1-5

Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR)

Manages infrastructure planning to achieve maximum leverage for taxpayer dollars in the key areas of education, health, transportation, economic development, housing and the environment. Responsible for overseeing the Places to Grow – growth plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area

Region works with the Ministry in discussions regarding priorities for infrastructure (e.g. GO Transit) and through the Durable Halton plan process as a response to Places to Grow Act.

Theme 5

Tourism

Responsible for advancing Ontario’s competitive advantage in tourism; and encouraging involvement in sport, recreation and physical activity for the health, social, and economic benefits of Ontarians.

Ministry is currently providing some of the funding for the Premier-ranked Tourist Destinations Project, which is being led by Region for completion in spring 2007.

Theme 1, 5

Education and Training, Colleges and Universities (EDU, MTCU)

Provide leadership, sets the direction for education policy, and support excellence in Ontario’s post secondary education and training system.

Region works closely with the Training Division to create awareness and help deliver apprenticeship training for Halton companies, in order to augment skills development throughout Halton.

Theme 3

Natural Resources (MNR)

Committed to protecting and managing the province’s natural resources, or its “natural capital”, and making the interest from that capital available for individuals, communities and economies that depend on it.

The Ministry will be a significant stakeholder in the Durable Halton planning process.

Theme 1, 5

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes Comments on Relationship with Region Impacted

Ministry/Agency

Role

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)

Provides programs and services to the agri-food sector which is integral to Ontario’s rural economy.

Involved with virtually all aspects of the Region’s tie-in to the agricultural industry, which is principally through the Region’s advisory Committee – the Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee.

Theme 5

Citizenship and Immigration (MCI)

Responsible for co-coordinating the development of provincial strategies to further Ontario’s goals in immigration and settlement.

Halton works with this Ministry through channels such as the Halton Multicultural Council.

Theme 3

Culture (MCL)

Encourages the arts and cultural industries, and implements strategies to promote and market Ontario’s cultural and heritage attractions to realize their full economic potential.

Among others, the Ministry was involved in the funding for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington.

Theme 1

Transportation (MTO)

Responsible for ensuring a safe and efficient transportation system for Ontario.

The Region works with the Ministry in planning and prioritization of series 400 highway expansions and improvements throughout the Region.

Theme 5

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Appendix A and B

Strategic Themes Impacted

Ministry/Agency

Role

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Provides information, research and technology, and policies and programs to assist the agriculture and agri-food sector to meet the challenges and opportunities for continued prosperity.

Theme 5

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Focusing on the emerging and exporting sectors of the economy, it provides small and medium-sized businesses with flexible financing, affordable consulting services and venture capital.

Theme 2, 5

Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC)

As Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s export contracting agency, the Corporation brings buyers and Canadian exporters together through contracts built on the best possible terms and conditions.

Theme 3, 5

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

One of the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mandates is to admit immigrants, foreign students, visitors and temporary workers who enhance Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social and economic growth.

Theme 3

Export Development Canada (EDC)

A Canadian financial institution devoted exclusively to providing trade finance services to support Canadian exporters and investors.

Theme 2, 5

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Responsible for positioning Canada as a world business leader, by helping large and small Canadian companies expand and succeed internationally, by promoting Canada as a dynamic place to do business, and by negotiating and administering trade agreements.

Theme 1, 2, 5

Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)

Responsible for providing all Canadians with the tools they need to thrive and prosper in the workplace and community. The department supports human capital development, labour market development, and is dedicated to establishing a culture of lifelong learning for Canadians.

Theme 3

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Strategic Themes Impacted

Ministry/Agency

Role

Industry Canada

The department’s mission is to foster a growing competitive, knowledge-based Canadian economy. It works with Canadians through the economy and in all parts of the country to improve conditions for investment, improve Canada’s innovation performance, increase Canada’s share of global trade and build a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace.

Theme 1, 2, 5

National Research Council (NRC) and Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)

Canada’s premier organization for research and development, one of NRC’s mandates is to provide vital scientific and technological services to the research and industrial communities. Its Industrial Research Assistance Program provides small and medium-sized enterprises with value-added technological and business advice, financial assistance and a range of other innovation assistance

Theme 3

Transport Canada

Works to ensure that Canadians have a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system by developing and administering policies, regulations and programs which contributes to Canada’s economic growth and social development

Theme 5

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy