EDCO Annual Report
2015
EDCO’s Vision For Ontario
Enhance and develop an economically viable and environmentally responsible Ontario.
EDCO’s Mission Statement
EDCO will provide leadership to enhance the professional development of its members; advance economic development as a profession and support our municipalities in fostering economic prosperity in the province of Ontario.
EDCO’s Key Strategies
- Increase awareness of EDCO as the lead economic development organization in Ontario on the part of government and other key economic development stakeholders.
- EDCO will pursue stronger communications with members, partners and stakeholders with the priority given to the EDCO website.
- EDCO will be known as a leading professional economic development organization with a strong, relevant voice for economic development both in the economic development community and related audiences.
- Support the role and function of the Economic development Officer through enhanced training and education and a strengthening of their position within local government.
Code of Ethics
Be it known to all persons by these present that members of the Council are dedicated to:
- Conform to the highest ethical standard in all business, promotional and competitive activities while being respectful of the efforts of others in promoting Ontario as an investment location
- Avoid all actions which might give the appearance of using their position to secure a personal tangible benefit
- Uphold and maintain the dignity and prestige associated with Council membership
- Co-operate with fellow members in informal exchange of information and ideas reflecting practices, trends and policy pertaining to economic development
- Give careful thought and unprejudiced consideration to problems affecting the Provincial and Federal field of Economic Development if and when requested by the Council.
- Accept personal responsibility for furthering the Council’s programme when called upon
Table of ContentsPage
EDCO’s Vision for Ontario………………………………………….. 1
EDCO’s Mission Statement………………………………………….. 1
EDCO’s Key Strategies………………………………………………. 1
EDCO’s Code of Ethics………………………………………………. 2
President’s Report – Robert Lamb, Ec.D. CEcD…………………….3/4
2015 EDCO Board of Directors……………………………………….5
2015 Annual General Meeting Agenda……………………………….6
2014 Annual General Meeting Minutes ………………………………7/8
EDCO Annual ConferenceReport, Paul Finley, Delia Reiche Co-Chairs ..9/10
EDCO Marketing Committee Report – Christina Kakaflikas …………..11/12
EDCO Professional Development Report – Alison Newton ………….13/14
EDCO Membership Committee – Eleethea Savage……………………15
EDCO Young Professional Report – Pranab Shah ……………………16
Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment/Ministry …17/18
of Research and Innovation, – Brian Love/Debbie Walker
Ministry of Agriculture and Food/Ministry of Rural Affairs – Doug Reddick19-21
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport – James Lynn ………………….22/23
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines – Claude Rivet ……………24-29
Past President’s Report – Paul Finley………………...... 30/31
EDCO Past Presidents Listing …………………………………………….32-34
EDCO Honourary Life Member Listing …………………………………..35
*Note EDCO 2015 EDCO Financial Statements are available under separate cover.
2016 Presidents Report
This past year EDCO reached a major milestone in the size and strength of your organization. In 2015, with the new membership initiative and the work of the EDCO YPN (Young Professional Network) EDCO not only surpassed the 1,000 membership level but by December also officially went over the 1,100 members mark as well, making EDCO the largest Economic Development organization in Canada.
With the launch of our new EDCO website, eblasts and various social media posts our communications efforts with our membership has never been stronger. That doesn’t mean we aren’t committed to finding new and effective ways to communicate with our membership. The Marketing Committee is always looking at new and effective ways of keep you updated on the latest trends and opportunities in Economic Development in Ontario and around the world.
This past year EDCO launched our first ever Elected Officials Training with great success. I would like to thank David Cash for putting together this great training session that was run on 3 occasions in front of over 70 elected officials. EDCO also ran its first Women in Economic Development session in Toronto which hopefully will grow to become an annual event. In 2015 we did an analysis of our membership base and found that 47% of our profession is now made up of women. The same held true for your 2015 Board in which 6 of the 11 elected members were female. Equality statistics as a professional association and a profession that we should be all proud of.
In 2015 we also partnered with the Province (OMAFRA) in delivering three Foundations of Regional Economic Analysis session across the province and the Canada Ontario Export Forum to deliver an Export Seminar in Toronto. We also partnered with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport to deliver two “Are You Ready for the Tourism Investment Dragons which prepared EDCO members for their investment opportunities pitches during the second Tourism Investment Dragon session. The EDCO Investment Alliance also worked with and helped coordinate many of our local municipalities on their trade mission to MIPIM and Corenet.
Your Board has worked hard to make sure we are always working for, and in, the best interest of our membership. Our professional partnerships with EDAC and IEDC, our many other corporate and association agreements helps to keep EDCO as strong organization for our members. And moving forward, a revised Strategic plan along with a new exciting event, our Spring Symposium, that you will hear more about at the AGM mean there is even more and exciting things ahead in 2016.
It has been a pleasure to serve as your President in 2015. In closing I would like to thank the entire 2015 Board of Directors and our CEO Heather Lalonde for all their hard work and support.
Thank you
Robert Lamb, Ec.D.,CEcD
2015 EDCO President
2014/2015 EDCO Board of Directors
President
Robert J. Lamb, Ec.D. CEcD, CAO – Township of Tay
First Vice President
John Regan, Ec.D. (F) CEcD – Town of French River
Second Vice President
Kerri King, Ec.D.,CEcD – Region of Durham
Secretary Treasurer
Christina Kakaflikas, Ec.D, CEcD – City of Markham
Past President
Paul Finley – Sturgeon Falls
Directors
Alistair Baird – County of Renfrew
Tom Dodds – Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation
Kapil Lahkotia – London Economic Development Corporation
Alison Newton – Town of Oakville
Delia Reiche -
Eleethea Savage – City of Greater Sudbury
Liaison Directors
Claude Rivet – MNDMDebbie Walker - MCIIT
Doug Reddick– OMAFRAPranab Shah - YPN
James Lynn –MTCSBrian Love – MEDEI/RI
Annual General Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 – 8:00 a.m.
Toronto Marriot Eaton Centre Hotel
525 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
1.OFFICIAL OPENING: Annual Meeting – 2015 President Robert Lamb, Ec.D, CEcD.
2. (A) MINUTES – February 11, 2015 – Motion required.
(B) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
3.COMMITTEE REPORTS PRESENTATION – President Robert Lamb, Ec.D., CEcD.
- Movement of reports by President Robert Lamb, Ec.D.,CEcD.
- Motion to retain Auditors - President Robert Lamb, Ec.D., CEcD
- Introduction of 2016 - President Robert Lamb, Ec.D., CEcD
- Motion to destroy Board election ballots - President Robert Lamb, Ec.D., CEcD
4. PRESENTATIONS
(A) RETIRING DIRECTOR’S GIFTS – President Robert Lamb, Ec.D.,CEcD
5. NEW BUSINESS
- EDCO Scholarships
- EDAC Greetings – Greg Borduas, Ec.D.
- IEDC Greetings – Jeff Finkle, CEcD.
6. 2015 PRESIDENT’S PRESENTATION AND ADJOURNMENT – John Regan, Ec.D, CEcD.
7. 2016 PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
8. ADJOURNMENT
Annual General Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 – 8:00 a.m.
Hamilton Convention Centre, Room Chedoke B/C
1 Summers Lane, Hamilton, Ontario
1. OFFICIAL OPENING: Annual Meeting – 2014 President Paul Finley welcomed distinguished guests and EDCO members to the EDCO Annual General Meeting and provided a brief look back at what was accomplished in 2014.
2. (A) MINUTES – February 5, 2014 –
Motion 01:02:15 AGM: Moved by Jennifer Patterson, seconded by Robert Lamb to approve the minutes as presented.
(B) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
There is no business arising from the minutes.
3. COMMITTEE REPORTS PRESENTATION –
Secretary Treasurer, Kerri King presented an overview of the audited statements.
Motion 02:02:15 AGM: Moved by Kim Wingrove, seconded by Cheryl Peters to approve the audited statements as presented. APPROVED
Motion 03:02:15 AGM: Moved by Cheryl Peters, seconded by Tom Dodds to increase membership dues by 5%. APPROVED
Motion 04:02:15 AGM: Moved by Aileen Murray, seconded by Bruce Strapp to approve BDO as the auditors for 2015 and 2016. APPROVED
2014 Past President Jennifer Patterson introduced the 2015 Executive and Board of Directors
Motion 05:02:15 AGM: Moved by Robert Brindley, seconded by John Regan to destroy the Board election results. APPROVED
4. Paul Finley presented retiring directors with an award of appreciation for their contributions.
5. NEW BUSINESS
John Regan, Chair of the Professional Development Committee, announced that EDCO is pleased to launch a scholarship program for 2015. Members will be able to submit applications to the program in the coming months.
Greetings were delivered to attendees by EDAC representative Aileen Murray.
6. 2015 PRESIDENT’S PRESENTATION
Paul Finley provided a brief presentation on the Board’s priorities for 2015.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Motion 06:02:15 AGM: Moved by Paul Finley to adjourn the meeting.
2016 Annual Conference Report
The 59th Annual EDCO Conference and Showcase comes at a time when Ontario communities are being challenged within an increasingly competitive global business environment. Entitled Ontario’s Transformation: Economy by Design, this year’s Conference provides members and attendees with an opportunity to participate in keynotes, seminars and workshops facilitated by some of industry’s top leaders. The Conference Committee has specifically designed a program which provides you the space to imagine, create and network with your peers and to participate in team work which will ignite your competitive spirit.
This year’s Conference program features keynote presentations by distinguished industry experts and business, institutional and community leaders who who will share their knowledge, experiences and ideas regarding new and innovative strategies and approaches to improving your community’s capacity and ability to perform more effectively in the business, trade and investment marketplace. Keynotes include:
- Bonnie Brooks, she brought sweeping and transformative changes. HBC was repositioned and transformed across Canada, she brought sweeping and transformative changes. HBC was repositioned and transformed across Canada, Vice-Chairman, Hudson's Bay Company who will speak about how she brought sweeping and transformative changes to HBC leading to its repositioning in Canada and respective mergers and takeovers of Lord and Taylor USA and Sachs Fifth Avenue.
- Louise Watson of Adura Strategy / Performance Management Blueprint who will talk about the struggles people and organizations have in implementing performance management and how to identify and to root out “bad habits” in order to bring about transformational change.
- Roger Brooks, President and CEO of Roger Brooks International who will walk delegates through the seven steps required to recruit investment and increase the tax base of communities.
There will also be a series of informative sessions regarding a host of topics including: How to foster innovation within your community; Maximizing opportunities for regional collaboration; Non-traditional approaches to recruitment & training; Collaboration between First Nations and neighboring communities; How businesses can attract top grads to their communities; Perceptions of U.S. executives regarding Canada’s business climate; and Challenges facing development of local food entrepreneurship programs. There is also a special field trip to the Archives of Ontario and its research, special exhibits and preservation facilities.
The Conference is being preceded by a pre-conference session at the Ontario Investment and Trade Centre offered in partnership with EDAC and the University of Waterloo entitled Investment Readiness for Communities and Regions, where participants will learn about what global investors are looking for and what communities need to know and do to capture their attention.
This year’s Opening Reception is being held at Ripley’s Aquarium where delegates have an opportunity to network with their professional colleagues within the environment of Toronto’s newest, world-class tourism attraction. Also new this year is the Scavenger Hunt, a digital team event which will promote competitive spirit and further promote comradery amongst conference attendees. The Conference will wind up with a series of Town Hall discussions providing delegates with an opportunity share their respective concerns and views on issues affecting their communities. As always, the Conference will conclude with the President’s Dinner and annual Ontario Economic Development Awards presided over by Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell.
At this time, we wish to take the opportunity to thank our Conference and Awards sponsors who so graciously support the activities of EDCO and the economic development profession throughout Ontario. We also wish to acknowledge the members of this year’s Conference Planning Committee which include Meredith Bowers,
Becky Breedon, Murray Clarke, Mike Florio, Fiaz Jadoon, James Lynn, Michelle Madden, Amy Malyon, Ann Matyas, Laura Pearce and Belinda Wick, who have contributed their knowledge and energy to ensure this year’s program meets your professional needs.
We also wish to offer a special thanks to our Conference Coordination team of Cindy Hick of HPB Management, Samantha Reynolds-Tubman of Next Wave Events and Heather Lalonde, EDCO’s Chief Executive Officer for their leadership, commitment and work “above and beyond” to ensure that the EDCO Conference remains Canada’s premier economic development conference.
Thank you all!
Delia Reiche, Co-ChairPaul Finley, Co-Chair
EDCO Marketing Committee Report
In 2015, the Marketing Committee focused on implementing the recommendations of the EDCO Content Strategy which aimed to further improve our online presence by establishing a structured, strategic and systematic approach to planned communications with our stakeholders including members, prospective members, and others.
Some of our achievements include: streamlining our email communications by eliminating the “In the Loop” format and focusing on the EDCO Exchange as the main email communication channel to our members; moving to a new association software management program and redesigning our website to allow for more control over updates and changes, thereby reducing our costs and increasing efficiencies; improving communication to prospective members and partners by starting a quarterly outreach campaign to this specific group; launching a new LinkedIn strategy with the creation of new EDCO LinkedIn page to engage our members and followers.
Thanks to the collective efforts of the Board and to our EDCO members, we have seen a substantial increase in our online engagement.
EDCO Online Metrics2013 / 2014 / 2015
Website visits / 3068 / 3089 / 3,704
Twitter Followers / 799 / 1180 / 1,473
LinkedIn members / 727 / 858 / 955
YPN LinkedIn members / 136 / 201 / 240
Facebook Likes / 165 / 226 / 420
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Marketing Committee members for their contribution including Nina Gesa, Kerri King; Paul Finley; Robert Lamb;Raj Sian, and Alastair Baird. A special thank you goes to Heather Lalonde, CEO and Amy Malyon, Marketing/Admin Coordinator for their support and initiative.
It has been a pleasure to serve as Chair of the Marketing Committee. I encourage you to consider actively participating on the Committee in 2016. We invite members to:
- submit news, participate in social media and write articles for EDCO
- help us by identifying content of existing, shareable information including staff reports, whitepapers, and academic papers
- volunteer on our Committees
- consider running in the next Board Elections
I look forward to our collaboration in 2016 as we continue to serve our members, build on our achievements, and raise the profile of EDCO and of our members as leaders in economic development.
Respectfully submitted,
Christina Kakaflikas, MAES, Ec.D, CEcD
Chair, Marketing Committee
EDCO Board of Directors
Professional Development Committee
The Professional Development Committee largely maintained its members in 2015 with a dynamic and energetic group that brought forward an enormous amount of creativity and passion to the committee.
Early in the year, it became apparent that the training session we had planned were struggling with poor registration levels despite our efforts to match sessions with interest expressed through our survey. It was felt that the frequency of the events was putting a financial and human resource constraint on the EDO’s. Following much discussion, the committee chose to take a two-pronged approach going forward. Through our various partners, including IEDC, University of Waterloo and YFactor, more webinars will be available as course options for our members. Webinars mitigate geographical contraints and allow for greater flexibility.
Secondly, a number of topics will be rolled up and bundled into our first ever Spring Symposium. An RFP was issued in the fall and Sault Ste. Marie was chosen as the host venue. The symposium will offer attendees a highly interactive event with a dedicated networking reception highlighting local culture and culinary tourism. The format will also allow members to earn points for attendance. Watch your packages at the 2016 EDCO Conference for further details.
Following the new scholarship program launched last year which was a great success, the committee continued the program in 2015. The program provides assistance to EDO’s from the North and South, including a young professional component. The three recipients for 2016 scholarships will be announced at the Annual Conference in February. I would like to acknowledge the tremendous time and effort put into this initiative by John Regan, Gord Knowles and Jonathan Condratto.
2015 Professional Development Committee Members
Alison Newton (Chair)Town of Oakville
John ReganMunicipality of French River
Gord KnowlesAtikokan Economic Development Corporation
Jonathan CondrattoCity of St. Charles
Myles BuckOMAFRA
Mislat BalogunCity of Vaughan
Kelly StahlCity of Brampton
Deb MountenayElgin Middlesex Oxford Workforce Planning & Development
Eric McSweeneyMcSweeney & Associates Consulting Inc.
Mark StefflerBurlington Economic Development Corporation
Carlos DelgadoRegional Municipality of Durham