By Ian Ross
The housing market may be booming in Canada's urban centres, but it has dried up in Northern Ontario and rural Canada through a mass out-migration of young people, says the president of the Thunder Bay Home Builders' Association.
And it is high time Thunder Bay politicians got their act together, quit fighting amongst themselves and set their minds to attracting major industry that creates well-paying jobs in the community, says Ray Williamson.
Sensing public dissatisfaction with council's performance, Williamson made his thoughts known at a city council meeting in early November.
"Right now it's not working," says Williamson. "Council is not working together as a team.
"When you walk into a room and there's fighting going on, do you go in or do you leave?" says Williamson, who adds the bad publicity generated by political in-fighting and "micro-management" of the city administration is affecting consumer and investor confidence.
"Two-thirds of the market is based on consumer confidence," says Williamson, in reference to the post-Sept. 11 economic slide. "If you're not going to spend money, you're not going to do any business."
"It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people believe it, it will come true."
Williamson says the city needs to attract some major industry to create well-paying jobs and skilled labour to stem youth out-migration and stimulate the local housing market, not the kind of jobs generated in the retail and service industry.
Jobs that pay a decent wage are needed in order to sustain the housing industry, he adds.
"The industry only responds to consumer demand. It doesn't create it, it sustains it."
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. figures, only two more single-detached units were built in Thunder Bay from January to October of this year, compared to the same period in 2000. Last year 121 units were built compared to 123 this year.
"The stats show it's the worst it's ever been. We have to roll up our sleeves, get together and figure out how to get out of this mess."
The Thunder Bay Regional Hospital construction project can be an "economic driver in itself" bringing in resources and expertise from all over the place, he says. But the city needs to reach out to other northwestern Ontario communities as part of a "family unit" and begin promoting itself as a regional hub, not just an individual community.
Some tangible advice he suggests is to change the Municipal Act to allow northern and rural communities to attract new industry through bonusing with land or tax breaks.
"Ontario is getting weaker from the outer core in. There's nothing wrong with the inner core, but we need a recipe to harmonize things."
