Mayor Fraser Tolmie will likely fly to Southeast Asia in 2020 for a trade mission to attract businesses to the Southeast Industrial Park, as part of the agreement with Carpere Canada.
Approaching those companies directly through personal visits is the best strategy to effectively attract businesses and industries to Moose Jaw, especially since those cultures expect the mayor to be present on such deals, according to city administration.
The municipality’s commitment to Carpere includes supporting and participating in missions to meet with potential investors and companies. There is also value in the municipality taking part in these trips, as addressed through recent strategic planning meetings.
The cost for Tolmie and one municipal employee to engage with Asian leaders is being pegged at $10,000, which city administration believes can help achieve the goals mentioned above. Administrators expect land sales in the industrial park will be enhanced by this activity, so they believe funding the project from the land reserve account is justifiable.
The $10,000 trade mission is one of three economic development projects the economic development services department is proposing in the 2020 budget. The projects were presented in a report during city council’s special budget meeting on Nov. 27.
Council voted 6-1 to table the report — Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed — until the last budget meeting when all the departmental reports and motions can be approved together.
The other economic development initiatives being proposed for next year include working with contractor MDB Insight to carry out a business retention and expansion triage project, with a focus on value-added agriculture and food production, for $15,000, and, supporting the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program for $5,000, to be rolled out in this coming April.
Both projects would be funded through the operating budget.
Council discussion
Prince Edward Island sends its economic development officer to Europe twice a year to attract businesses, Tolmie said. One of Canada’s biggest trading partners is Southeast Asia, and while this country thinks it knows what those countries want, “until we’re over there and actually pressing the flesh,” Moose Jaw will remain ignorant of their needs.
This is a great opportunity for the economic development office and for the entire municipal team as a whole, he continued. He has spoken with community business leaders and the province about what Saskatchewan’s presence is overseas, noting municipalities rely on the provincial and federal governments to do this kind of thing.
“Sometimes you need that local flavour to deal with that (economic issue),” Tolmie said, adding there is a bylaw that requires council to give approval if the mayor travels overseas.
These trade mission trips won’t happen until the deal with Carpere is completed, explained city manager Jim Puffalt. He reiterated that council agreed to support Carpere by bringing industries to the industrial park. Moose Jaw has not been invited to participate in any other trade mission yet, but that may change in the future.
“I was surprised to read that we are thinking of taking the $10,000 out of the land reserve. Have we done that in the past?” asked Coun. Scott McMann. “Do we have parameters about what are allowable expenses from that type of account?”
Parameters will come forward as part of the review of the reserves, said finance director Brian Acker. Although there are no overarching guidelines right now, the intention is to create some and put them into a bylaw form.
Money in that reserve came from selling land in the Southeast Industrial Park, he added.
The next special budget meeting is Wednesday, Dec. 4.
