Rebooting the economy.

We’re often presented with the idea that there are politicians who care about the economy or politicians that care about social issues. I’ve never understood this division as it’s clear to me that you can’t have a successful economy without a healthy community, or a successful community without a healthy economy. 

A healthy local economy is essential to our quality of life. It means employment opportunities for people to support themselves and their families, and vibrant city spaces that we can enjoy in a range of different ways, from grabbing coffees at a cafe to working out at the local gym. But businesses equally rely on a strong social foundation. At Mayor Iveson’s recent Townhall on Affordable Housing Advocacy, I heard from businesses big and small about how essential affordable housing and other social supports are to their companies’ success.  

While there are a number of long term economic opportunities I think are essential to position our city for success in the future, there are some urgent steps that need to be taken now to help reboot the economy post-pandemic. There's no denying there have been significant economic impacts over the past 18 months - in fact, there hasn't been a recession of this magnitude since the 1980s. 

The moves we make in the coming months will have a huge impact on whether Edmonton’s economy can be rebuilt to support a thriving community. There are three immediate moves that I would champion on Council to make sure we get the rebound right.

Get out of the way. 

We need to ensure that we’re removing as many barriers as possible from businesses opening, reopening, or expanding. This means removing unnecessary permit and licencing requirements that increase the cost of doing business, and streamlining processes when they are needed. This needs to happen quickly. 

While working at the City, I championed a change to remove permit requirements for new businesses opening up in existing buildings. This was a challenging process and required months of internal conversations and a rewritten bylaw. While it was a good start, it removed just one permit in a string of fees and licences. 

There are reasons to be optimistic that we can achieve more streamlined processes quickly. We have seen a number of recent successes like the outdoor retail and patio expansion program, a permit and fee-free process which allowed dozens of businesses to continue to operate safely during covid. City staff also acted quickly while I was helping to open an emergency bridge housing facility to address the shortage of shelter spaces this spring after the closing of the convention centre facility. City staff helped us get all our permits and licences in place within a week.

What strikes me about these recent successes is that they didn’t require months of discussion or bylaw rewrites: they happened because City Council provided staff with clear direction about how essential these initiatives were.  This led to a shift in how existing regulations were looked at. As O-day’min City Councillor, I will ensure that the urgency of economic recovery is made absolutely clear, and we help businesses flourish now. 

Give greater grants.

The City currently offers a range of Business Improvement Area grants to support businesses to renovate the inside and outside of their stores along our main streets. This program has resulted in many fantastic upgrades to shops on main streets across the ward. A limitation of the program, though, is that businesses have to match any grant amount over $1000. This means businesses get caught in catch-22 - they need to invest in their buildings to increase their revenues but don’t have the revenues to invest.

I propose removing the matching component and providing businesses with grants outright to help them rebound from the pandemic, with a matching lending program that would allow businesses to pay back the City over five years. This would remove barriers to businesses investing in our community and help jump-start the revitalization of our main streets.  

I’d also like to see the store improvement program expanded to all businesses in O-day’min, including ground floor retail spaces in apartment buildings located in the hearts of our neighbourhoods. In addition to helping our local economy, these investments can also support more walkable local retail, helping us create communities where people can access their day-to-day needs within a 15 minute walk, roll, bike or bus ride.

Buy Local.

As the City talks about economic recovery and supporting local businesses, it’s essential that it shows leadership. Another immediate move the City has to make to support Edmonton’s economic recovery is to use its significant purchasing power to boost local businesses. 

In December 2019, the City passed a new Sustainable Procurement policy that aims to ensure positive environmental, social, and economic impacts. While it’s exciting to see the City begin to think intentionally about how their spending can contribute to the success of our community, there is no mention of prioritizing local businesses. The stats would suggest that we’re missing out on these opportunities. In 2017, 80% of purchase orders under $25,000 went to local suppliers, but only 59% of agreements over $25,000 went to Edmonton-based businesses. This represents a lost investment in our community. 

It’s true that there are limitations to favouring local businesses because of free trade agreements the City is subject to, and there may be certain skill sets that we just don’t have in town. Getting the best quality services at a reasonable price is essential, but when there are comparable services offered, we should be explicitly prioritizing local companies. 

Some great ideas have also been floated recently on how the City can support local media, directing existing spending to a variety of Edmonton-based outlets. These approaches can help balance supporting local businesses while ensuring we get best value for our spending.   

Up next.

Removing barriers, expanding grant programs, and promoting local spending are three quick wins that have to happen now. But ultimately these actions are just the start of what we need to do to build a prosperous economy in the long run. I’ll be sharing more about the bigger moves that we need to start planning for now to make sure we build back our economy even stronger.