Manufacturers looking to government for help
Friday May 9 2008
By Eric Sparling
Connie Fraser has the pulse of the county’s manufacturers. If her roles as plant manager of Sanoh Canada and president of Dufferin County Manufacturers Association (DCMA) didn’t give her enough insight, a survey conducted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce — with local assistance from the Greater Dufferin Area Chamber of Commerce — has fleshed out the picture.
The survey was conducted in 70 communities across Ontario, according to a press release, and 10 manufacturers in our area participated.
These businesses are sending a three-fold message to the industry spokespeople who represent them, says Fraser. Her members are looking for reduced taxes, innovation and capital equipment investment programs, as well as training tax credits and grants.
Fraser has a generally favourable view of the steps governments are taking to assist manufacturers, with a few reservations. When asked if her members feel inundated with paperwork generated by regulations, she answers, “Yes.” Fraser would like to see the red tape diminished, and better, quicker systems put in place. She says zoning issues in Orangeville have “hampered” her sector, but not as badly as some people think. And the DCMA president says town council has been responsive to her members’ concerns about local tax rates.
The plant manager speaks highly of the role post-secondary education facilities are playing in the community. She says Georgian College’s Career Pathways event, in which thousands of Grade 8 students are bussed to the agricultural grounds to participate in a career fair — booths are set up by employers to inform the kids about diverse sectors — is a valuable initiative. An Innovation Humber seminar occurred at the Alder Street recreation centre recently, in which reps from Innovation Humber informed the audience about the resources the college, and Ontario Centres of Excellence, can bring to bear in assisting businesses into bring ideas into fruition.
The DCMA has 26 members, and Fraser says she’s working on another three prospects; the membership hasn’t expanded over the past year but hopefully will in the next 12 months.
Keeping numbers up has “been a struggle,” she says, in light of the loss of some prominent members, Pfizer being just one example. But she feels that the region has something to offer manufacturers. Dufferin has close proximity to the GTA, while offering a lifestyle that the city can’t match. The county has a ready workforce looking for opportunities to work in the same communities in which they live, thereby escaping the commuting rut.
The organization is in a process of assessing the needs of its members, which the survey no doubt helped. Fraser says manufacturers are stepping back and looking at the ways they do business, trying to identify ways of streamlining their operations — and the ones who look ahead will be able to capitalize on their foresight.
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