With all the advantages in Timmins, it’s inevitable the city will flourish, says Mayor George Pirie.
At the annual Mayor’s State of the City address hosted by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Pirie was optimistic about the city’s future.
“The city is strong financially and we have an exciting future to look forward to,” he said.
Over 50 people attended the speech at the Porcupine Dante Club.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with Pirie, Timmins CAO Dave Landers, chamber CAO Keitha Robson and chamber president Rob Knox.
In his final State of the City address, Pirie talked about Rotman Management Magazine’s article titled Emerging From COVID-19: Canada’s Opportunity.
The article talks about Canada’s advantages including its geographic location, education, inclusiveness, size, natural resources and technology ecosystem.
Pirie said Timmins has all the same advantage, giving the city an opportunity to extend beyond being “just a mining town.” The mayor said the city has the ability to attract global talent and can be a hub for change and innovation.
Timmins has a secure future because it has what the world needs, Pirie said.
“I propose because of our natural advantages, it’s almost inevitable that we will flourish,” he said.
The article also mentions four principles for Canada to become a leading innovator: targeting the world’s top talent, embracing electrification and decarbonization, focusing on systemic healthcare changes and supporting the growth of small businesses.
Pirie said local leaders have already been applying those principles, giving examples of the opening of a Sikh temple, the establishment of Northern College’s Innovation Hub and the Cochrane district participating in the long-term care community paramedicine program.
The panel discussion touched on various topics including the opioid crisis, red tape reduction, the City of Timmins’ state as a corporation, proposed return of passenger train service, the state of mining and Victor M. Power Airport expansion.
In response to a question about the city’s corporate health, Landers said the city has been experiencing staff shortages and supply chain issues. The latter results in long wait times for equipment, Landers said adding the city has been waiting for about two years for two garbage trucks.
It’s critical to invest in capital projects including roads, infrastructure and water, Landers said.
Landers also mentioned Service Timmins and how reducing 50 telephone lines into one has resulted in a quicker response and better service delivery.
Talking about a proposed passenger rail service, Pirie said more information on how much funding will be coming to Timmins will be known later in spring. The passenger rail will bring significant benefits to the city, he added.
In light of Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week, Landers said the city strives to streamline its services, triage issues quicker and simplify its processes.
When a planning or development file comes in, several city departments meet together to look at the file collaboratively at the same time, so that there are no differences of opinion or misinformation, Landers said.
“What are those rules we can get rid of, forms that we have created we don’t need can eliminate so that we can speed up processes? So that people who are looking to build or develop in the city of Timmins, can get access to services a lot quicker?” he said. “What are we doing internally to make sure the right people are looking at a planning or development file together, at the same time?”
Landers also said the city is working on a strategic plan for the Timmins airport with future possibilities for the community and businesses to provide their input. The strategic plan will also look at how to service the coast better, how to add more hangars and provide additional places for people to do business or launch business.
At the end of the discussion, Pirie briefly talked about the opioid crisis, commending the work done by Dr. Louisa Marion-Bellemare and Dr. Julie Samson and said the issue isn’t going away.
“We’ve got a number of people with their boots on the ground making Timmins a better place to live,” he said.
In an interview, Knox said the city is well-positioned to grow economically and demographically in the future by bringing qualified professionals to the city.
While Timmins isn’t immune to labour shortages and supply chain issues, it was encouraging to hear the city is in a good position and was able to pivot, Knox added.
Northern College president Audrey Penner said it’s a great time to be a part of the community.
“If we learned anything from COVID is, like the mayor said, we can break down the barriers, we can reduce the red tape, we can collaborate and make things happen,” she said after the event. “It forced us to be even more innovative than we’ve already been.”
