Extending retail hours, cutting red tape at city hall and developing industrial lands are the keys to making Sudbury more business friendly, according to Mayor Marianne Matichuk.
Commenting during the annual State of the City address hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, Matichuk said the fight to extend store hours wasn't over, despite council voting down the idea last year.
With polls showing residents want extended shopping hours, she urged citizens to lobby for change, suggesting the city needs to stop dictating to businesspeople and get out of their way.
“Businesspeople know what's good for them,” Matichuk said. “I, for one, will not tell you how to run your businesses.”
Streamlining the permit application process is one way council is already working to reduce red tape, she added. When an application is made to the city, one staff member will be assigned to the file and will guide the applicant through the entire process.
This fall, the city will host an “open for business” forum, available to new and existing businesses that want to speak with staff from different levels of government who can help business owners access funding, Matichuk added.
“Senior officials tell us the business sector doesn't get its fair share of funding because we don't apply,” she said. “With this forum, we're hoping to create relationships to will allow you to get the help you need to grow your business to grow our city.”
When the report on the city's industrial lands is presented to council later this month, the city will have a plan for how to be ready for future investment, the mayor added, saying Sudbury needs to expand its tax base in order to be a competitive, commercial and industrial rallying point in Northeastern Ontario.
“We have to be ready,” she said. “When you need to expand, we have to prepare if we want to attract new business to our city. I see the development of industrial lands as a key component to the growth of our city and the key to our future.”
That includes attracting Cliffs Natural Resources and mining supply and service companies looking at Sudbury for Ring of Fire opportunities.
“To me, there's only one place and that's right here in Sudbury, so we have to be ready,” she said. “I want Sudbury to be the only choice for all of them.
Touching on past and recent successes in the mining, health and education sectors, Matichuk said she'd like to make Sudbury a leader in the health and safety sector by developing a school of occupational health, safety and the environment, noting that a group of professionals in the field have already been assembled to begin exploring the possibilities.
