At the Monday, February 8, 2021 Windsor City Council meeting, Council will consider recommendations contained in a report entitled Windsor Works: Economic Development Strategy for the City's Future Growth.
It was produced by Public First, a small policy and research company located in London, UK. The firm has a revolving door relationship with 10 Downing Street, the office of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is the subject of a recent public controversy. It has no apparent municipal economic development expertise, or, for that matter, familiarity with Southwestern Ontario.
Windsor Works was commissioned by Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. It's unclear what due diligence was done before deciding to appoint Public First to create this report.
It offers no major new insights, data or observations. The report largely echoes Windsor City's existing 20 Year Strategic Vision. Many of the source documents referenced in Windsor Works' bibliography were authored by the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation (WE EDC).
The report advocates for the new County Road 42 hospital site, but fails to note that if the hospital is built there, Windsor's established neighbourhoods will lose 5,000+ jobs. Nor does it offer recommendations for replacing that many jobs.
How much did Windsor taxpayers pay for this "research"? The only public disclosure was that it cost less than $400,000. |
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