Local Business and Jobs

When the Crofton mill closed, hundreds of families suddenly had to figure out what came next.

People who had spent years building careers there lost their jobs. Mortgages still had to be paid. Children still had to be raised. Local businesses lost customers. Friends and neighbours all felt the loss at once.

Helping those people afterward is necessary.

But it is reactive.

The problems at Crofton had been visible for years. Operations had been curtailed. The industry was changing. Fibre was becoming harder and more expensive to obtain.

Good government reads the writing on the wall.

The important question is not why Council failed to save the mill. Most of the forces that closed it were outside municipal control.

The important question is why losing one employer could hurt so many of us this badly.

Give Business Room to Grow

Government does not need to create the economy for them.

It needs to give them room to do it.

Give people room to build, and they will fill it.

Industry can be a farm stand or a processing plant.

It can be a workshop, a small manufacturer, a cidery, or a business that has not been invented yet.

Every big business started as a small one.

Before the employees, the buildings and the payroll, there was someone with a dream and the ambition to make it happen.

When elected, I want Council to make room for those people.

Start With the Businesses Already Here

We should attract new employers.

But we should never forget the businesses already here.

They have already chosen us.

They already employ our neighbours.

They already know what makes it easy to do business here and what makes it unnecessarily difficult.

When elected, I will push Council to make it easier for good local businesses to invest, expand and hire.

That means clear approvals, reasonable timelines, serviced land where it is needed, and fewer rules that accomplish nothing except making a good idea harder.

A strong economy is built from the ground up by the people who call this place home.

Agriculture and Manufacturing

Agriculture is economic development.

Manufacturing is economic development.

A farm stand can become a farm store.

A farm store can become a processing business.

A small manufacturer can become a major employer.

Every big business starts with someone deciding to try.

Council cannot manufacture that ambition.

It can make sure we do not smother it.

Be Ready Before the Next Crofton

We cannot control global markets.

We cannot control every decision made in Victoria or Ottawa.

We cannot guarantee that another major employer will never close.

We can make sure the next closure does not leave hundreds of families wondering whether there is anything else here for them.

That requires an economy with depth.

Reactive government helps after the jobs are gone. Proactive government makes room for the next hundred businesses before we need them.

When elected, I will work to give the people who build businesses, create jobs and take risks the room to do what they already know how to do.

They will do the rest.