Leeds-Grenville's strengths and issues on agenda as TVO public affairs program comes to Brockville
Posted Mar 11, 2010 By Roy Lewis
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EMC Events - The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville has many strengths but also several challenges, including the replacement of lost jobs, co-operation between urban and rural municipalities and how to retain or attract young people necessary for future growth.
Roy Lewis, St. Lawrence EMC
From left, Steve Paikin, host of TVO's The Agenda public affairs program, is shown with members of a panel, Matthew Raby, Sandra Lawn, Senator Bob Runciman, Mayor David Henderson, Sueling Ching and Vasiliki Bednar, prior to the program, during which the strengths and challenges of Leeds and Grenville were discussed and broadcast live from the Brockville Arts Centre on March 1.
These were among the main issues raised during The Agenda, Television Ontario's (TVO) public affairs program that was broadcast live from the Brockville Arts Centre on March 1. The program is part of The Agenda's On The Road Series, which this year is focusing on how well Ontario is reinventing itself given the global nature of the economic downturn, the way the world is evolving and how society is changing. During the series, The Agenda staff will visit London, Brockville and Timmins.
In introducing the program to his audience, host Steve Paikin asked how small population centres across the province, like Leeds and Grenville, "survive and even thrive in the 21st century."
To gain an insight into the issues and strengths of the region, TVO producers held The Agenda Camp on Feb. 28 at St. Lawrence College where community leaders, political figures, representatives of business and academic communities and others engaged regular citizens about the issues Brockville and Ontario face in changing to meet the needs of the 21st century.
A panel of prominent citizens, including former and current politicians through a wide age range, was questioned by Paikin, in front of a studio audience, about the weaknesses, strengths and what strategies the region should focus on for the future. Referring to other areas of the province such as Muskoka or Prince Edward County, Paikin said "people know what they are getting but what are they getting in Brockville?"
Senator Bob Runciman pointed out that the region goes beyond Brockville and is comprised of many components. Areas such as North Grenville, the largest growing community in Canada, and Merrickville are doing well but there are also "pockets of the riding that are suffering from job losses."
He pointed to Gananoque as being the most challenged with manufacturing job losses. He later mentioned that between 500 and 600 jobs have disappeared from the Brockville Mental Health Centre (former Brockville Psychiatric Hospital) over the last 10 years and a further 150 jobs will be lost when the transitional bed section of the institution is closed.
Noting that many areas of Ontario and North America face the same difficulties, Runciman said there is no single answer to address all the challenges. He did highlight local manufacturing successes including Northern Cables, a company started by a group of former Phillips Cables employees after that mammoth plant in the city's west end closed. Northern Cables is now hiring more people and "we need to nurture that kind of growth," he said.
Even with its employment problems, Runciman said the area still has "great people, great natural assets such as the 1000 Islands and Rideau Lakes, and it is a wonderful place to live and raise a family."
Former Prescott mayor, Sandra Lawn, said the history of the area includes strong traditions of democratic government and the St. Lawrence River "binds us especially in commerce." She noted the region has the only deep sea port between Oshawa and Valleyfield, there is a world class athletic track at Thousand Islands Secondary School and an amphitheatre in Prescott, which is the setting of professional Shakespearean theatre.
The region has struggled with where to focus its strategic vision, according to Sueling Ching, chief executive officer of the Brockville YMCA. Ching, who is former executive director of the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce, added that in changing times, the key to the area's success will mean being brave enough to do things in a different way and capitalize on the region's assets.
Matthew Raby, 28, disagreed with the suggestion to market the region as a place to retire. Raby, who is working in an economic development project sponsored by the United Way, said such an approach would not be sustainable and suggested ways be adopted to attract a younger generation to drive future growth.
Leeds and Grenville's great strength is its geographic location being close to the Nation's Capital, CN and CP rail links, the U.S. border and the St. Lawrence River, said Vasiliki Bednar of the Martin Prosperity Institute, an economic social think-tank at the University of Toronto.
Later in the program, Bednar said her institute has found that focusing on one thing is not the way to go. She advises regions to think big, look big, use a shotgun approach instead of a rifle to cover wider opportunities and always be ready since no one can predict when a beneficial project may come along.
She also pointed out the problem of the older population in the region with the medium or middle age of the area's residents being 44 compared to 37 in Toronto. The area also does not offer job opportunities for the young as are found in Toronto, added Bednar.
Brockville mayor David Henderson said after young people leave for university, it is often difficult to get them to return to this area.
"We have sports and other activities but inevitably it is jobs," he said.
Lawn praised the diversity of the age groups in the region.
"The young bring their technical smarts and their physical activity but older people bring wisdom and creativity they have learned over the years," she said.
"The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is not as united as it could be," observed Bednar.
From The Agenda Camp, Bednar felt there were tensions and competitiveness among the municipalities.
While observing community leaders did meet for discussions about the regional economy, Runciman admitted there was a "competitive strain about the pockets of the riding." Henderson concurred but argued the area's municipalities are "working together better than ever before." He described the effort of Leeds and 1000 Islands Township mayor Frank Kinsella to develop greater ties between Leeds and Grenville and the Asian economic powerhouse of China in such areas as tourism, immigration and industrial connections.
"This effort didn't work in all areas because we have diverse interests but it did work in communities along the waterfront because we have common interests," said Henderson.
"But everything is not gloom and doom and we work together far more than we don't," he said.
Lawn referred to a recent economic development forum in Leeds and Grenville where "it was clear that each community built on its own strengths from its natural amenities or, in the case of Spencerville, the surrounding agricultural community.
"We have the opportunity if we are creative and work together and we are good at that," she said.
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