The Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) is calling on the province to create an economic development fund specifically for Southwestern Ontario.
Demonstrating a high level of regional cooperation and collaboration, the proposal has been endorsed by Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (WOWC), the South Central Ontario Region Economic Development Corporation (SCOR) and the Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance (SOMA).
“Economic development organizations in Southwestern Ontario are speaking with one voice now, and they all agree on the critical need for this provincial fund,” states SWEA chair and Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson.
The SWEA proposal calls for the creation of a multi-year Southwestern Ontario Development Fund designed to build grassroots capacity to attract foreign investment and retain existing business. More importantly, the organization suggests the program be targeted to new and existing partnerships between municipalities, economic development organizations, private enterprise, academe and social enterprise.
SWEA believes that, current fiscal restraints notwithstanding, there is a critical need to support ongoing economic development in Southwestern Ontario during a period of economic transformation. This is a volatile period for the region, with job gains in the new economy being offset by continued losses in the traditional manufacturing sector. The provincial government has had the foresight to support Eastern Ontario with a development fund through its years of need. It is very clear that Southwestern Ontario requires the same type of support today.
Municipalities in the region have invested substantially in cooperative ventures to transform its economy. Examples include the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC), the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, SCOR, SOMA, and SWEA itself, just to name a few. The region now needs the support of its provincial partners to build on these initiatives and help create the grassroots capacity needed to innovate and collaborate during the transformation.
During the provincial election campaign, SWEA and its regional partners call on all party leaders to voice support for this initiative and to ensure its implementation within 100 days of the Oct. 6 election.
For further information, contact SWEA president Serge Lavoie.
