Four of the province’s biggest municipalities are looking at new collaborative ways to move forward economically.
Yesterday, St. John’s, Mount Pearl, CBS and Paradise announced that they are looking at the possibility of developing a regional economic development framework.
Terry French, Mayor of CBS, says they are going into this with an open mind. Given the economic situation of the province, they believe there is no better time than now to find ways to work together.
They wish to maintain their autonomy as individual governments.
St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen says one of the ways they can work together is on marketing themselves to the national and international economies.
He references the Premier who has said things need to be done differently and says the municipalities have the opportunity to take advantage of global markets, but that can only be done together and with a focused strategy.
Earlier Story
Four of the province’s largest municipalities are looking at ways they can work together on economic opportunities in the region.
The mayors of St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South, and Paradise have announced that they are looking at the possibility of a regional economic development framework.
As such, the four municipalities are embarking on a two-part project to explore the feasibility of such an initiative.
(Danny Breen, Dave Aker, Terry French, and Dan Bobbett.)
The first phase of the project will see a consultant hired to look at mutually beneficial activities, opportunities, and issues that may arise from such a framework. The overall goal is to leverage individual expertise and resources to the benefit of the region.
If it is decided that the concept should move forward, phase two will consider options and recommendations for how the framework will look.
Each of the municipalities will chip in $10,000 for the project, with another $53,800 coming from ACOA. According to St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen, the first phase of the initiative should be completed by year’s end.
