Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) project is the newest initiative brought forward by the City of North Bay to help job growth.
The initiative was first brought to the table in 2005.
“The target at the time was to interview 250 companies,” Councillor Dave Mendocino said. “That took some time, two or three years to do. Staff has continued to go out and do up a new version of BR&E but this council felt that we needed a full-blown expansion and I am pleased to say that it is forming part of our overall strategy to grow the city.”
The Ontario Government has also given the city $42,000 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund for this project.
“It’s so difficult to bring new businesses here,” Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli explained. “When you have 2-3,000 businesses in this city, if every one of them hired one more employee, just think of how many people that is. Retaining the businesses that you have here and learning what is the problem, what the impediments are to expanding and employing whatever you as a city and you as a province can put in, that is a much easier way to hire good people.”
The program is set to get underway this month and involves confidential interviews and surveys on-site with local businesses.
“This program is key because approximately 85 per cent of job growth comes from local businesses,” explained Mendicino. “We will be targeting 250 businesses to participate in the program and we would not be able to undertake this number of visits without the support of our community partners.”
“It’s important that we listen to and support our business community. This program will help to retain jobs and promote new hiring and expansion,” stated Mayor Al McDonald. “It’s through partnerships and investments like this that we will be positioned to grow our community.”
