Economic Growth Has to Be Part of Thunder Bay’s Plan

Thunder Bay needs economic growth. That may sound obvious, but I think we need to have a much more serious conversation about what growth means to the future of our city and, just as importantly, what role City Hall should play in making it happen.

We spend a lot of time talking about the cost of municipal government. We should. Residents are feeling the impact of property taxes, inflation and the increasing cost of almost everything. At the same time, the City is facing significant infrastructure needs and the rising cost of delivering the services people expect. There is a limit to how much more we can continually ask existing taxpayers to contribute.

One part of the answer has to be growing the economy and expanding the tax base.

Thunder Bay has some significant advantages. We are the economic and service centre of Northwestern Ontario, with strengths in transportation, health care, education, government, natural resources and a growing range of businesses and services. Our location also gives us opportunities that many communities simply do not have. We should be looking at those advantages and asking how we turn more of them into investment, jobs and long-term assessment growth.

City Hall cannot create private-sector growth by itself, nor should it try. What it can do is create an environment where people want to invest.

That means reasonable approval processes, competitive timelines, adequate infrastructure and a willingness to work with people who want to build businesses, housing and employment in Thunder Bay. If unnecessary municipal barriers are standing between a good project and an investment in our community, we should be asking why those barriers exist and whether they are actually necessary.

We also need to understand that not all growth is automatically good growth.

Development has long-term consequences for municipal finances. New roads, water and sewer infrastructure and other services eventually have to be maintained and replaced. Council needs to understand those costs when decisions are made. Economic development should strengthen the City's financial position rather than create liabilities that future taxpayers will have to carry.

This is where economic growth and fiscal responsibility belong in the same conversation.

A stronger private sector creates jobs and opportunities, attracts people to the community and helps support the municipal tax base. More assessment means the cost of operating the City can be spread across a broader base instead of continually going back to the same homeowners and businesses for more.

I also think City Hall needs to become more comfortable saying that we want investment here. There should be nothing controversial about wanting businesses to expand, entrepreneurs to succeed, developers to build and employers to create good-paying jobs.

Thunder Bay has challenges, but we also have tremendous potential. We should not allow ourselves to become so focused on managing problems that we stop pursuing opportunities.

The goal should be straightforward: make Thunder Bay a community where people want to live, work, build businesses and invest.

We need to maintain what we already have, spend taxpayers' money responsibly and deal with the infrastructure challenges in front of us. But we cannot simply manage our way to prosperity.

At some point, we have to grow.

And I believe the next City Council needs to make responsible economic growth one of Thunder Bay's priorities.