The creation of a jobs task force in Lambton County has been given the green light.
Lambton County Council endorsed a motion to coordinate local economic development groups to create job prosperity in the community during their February meeting.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley moved the motion first presented to Sarnia Council by Councillor Bill Dennis.
"[County] staff was saying back that yes, some people would like to participate in this but it's really not necessary -- I would respectfully disagree with that, so I'm going to move that we endorse the concept of a jobs task force for Lambton County."
The motion was seconded by councillor Margaret Bird before heading to a vote.
Bradley then encouraged other councillors to support the motion as well.
"There are organizations here that are doing some great things in economic development - SLEP, the local improvement partnership, and the research park, but this is more encompassing, and a lot of these groups have indicated, like SLEP, that they're willing to participate in this discussion, and it's modelled in other places, but it's to take a more comprehensive look at where we're going," he said. "What is the harm in saying 'let's not endorse the status quo, let's put this group up at very little or no cost and see what we can come up with which is different than what we're doing now?' And that's why I support this and I would hope others would, as an experiment, to see if there are things that we could be doing better."
Bradley said other areas, like London, are already benefiting from their own task force.
"London has a huge economic development department, they have all sorts of different strategies on immigration attraction, but the mayor went to council and said 'we need to do something broader,' and some of that's been successful already, and it's looking at all of the components -- it's looking at housing, it's looking at attraction, and this is not going to duplicate [an existing group in Sarnia-Lambton], and the fact that SLEP and these other groups, like the training board, have said we want to be part of this, I think that says this is broader."
Bradley said he wants Sarnia-Lambton to see the same economic development as other areas in Ontario.
"There was a report out the other day showing that about 70 per cent plus of the job creation in Ontario, which is doing very well right now, is happening in the GTA, and they were pointing out Windsor, London, Sarnia, this region, we're not getting the benefits of that very prosperous Ontario right now," he said. "I think it's now just a time for action because the economy in Ontario is doing very well, and we're doing fine but we could be doing a lot better, and again, I say to you what's to be lost? I'm not willing to endorse the status quo. I think there are good groups doing stuff but I think we could be doing better and that this is a way to do it."
The motion passed by a vote of 14-3.