Chancellor of Trent University, professor and author Don Tapscott wrote an article recently for the Toronto Star (Friday, October 17, 2014) about the success in Guelph and the re-imagined role of municipal government. Here we will take a look at the principles and highlight what Peterborough already has in place and what areas are in need of attention.
1. Promoting Entrepreneurship to Achieve Prosperity
In the Toronto Star article Tapscott says, “when it comes to jobs, entrepreneurship is key, as close to 80 per cent of new jobs come from companies five years old or less, and technology enables little companies to have the capabilities of big companies.”
He goes on to tell us about Innovation Guelph which “since launching in 2010 has coached more than 500 companies and helped channel more than $12 million into client companies.”
In Peterborough:
There are actually two regional entities in the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster (GPIC) and Peterborough Economic Development’s Business Advisory Centre. The Innovation Cluster mandate is “to drive 21st century technology-based, innovation-driven, and entrepreneurship-led economic growth and high-tech job creation by supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, commercialization and new company formation & growth.” It recently developed “The Cube” which is a technology business incubator that puts entrepreneurs into direct contact with experts who can help them commercialize their ideas.
In the 2013 Annual Report from Peterborough Economic Development, the Business Advisory Centre is credited with facilitating 64 new start-ups. The Centre offers “entrepreneurs various tools from registration to guidance from business experts to access to resources or a quiet place to work.”
2. Open Government
Here Tapscott relays what the City of Guelph has accomplished from adopting a plan developed by engaged citizens, local business and community stakeholders to including citizens in government decision making to making the new councillor orientation handbook available as a user guide to local government - The Guelph User Guide.
In Peterborough:
The City of Peterborough has 10 Advisory Committees, eight of which has citizen appointees. In the County there are also 10 Advisory Committees and citizen appointees.
A great idea is publishing the new councillor user guide as a general user guide to local government. Educating the public on how government works and the processes it follows allows for residents to feel included.
3. Turning Public Safety Inside Out
Guelph has launched a group called “Guelph Enterprise” which is a model for innovation in human services. The thinking behind the group is that great policing isn’t the only solution, strong health care, education and social services need to work together with an eye to freeing up resources and capacity for stretched service providers.
In Peterborough:
The Peterborough Lakefield Police Service has identified this as a major stumbling block. One Inspector is interested in pulling together a group that sounds very much like “Guelph Enterprise”. The following was printed in a Voice of Business article on Thursday, October 2, 2014:
The Chamber is wholeheartedly in favour of a working group to come up with ideas to improve the city for all residents, as suggested by Inspector Dan Smith. “There are no simple solutions and we all must work collaboratively to deal with these problems,” he stated in an email. “Every enforcement initiative we undertake just displaces the activity to another location and doesn't provide a permanent solution. I would like to form a working group of interested persons to see if we can come up with some ideas.”
4. Rethinking Transportation
When it came to transportation Tapscott commended Guelph for its cycling master plan including: 100 kilometres of bike lanes and another 110 in various stages of approval, affordable bus pass program, Guelph Central Station Transit Hub, and off-road trails.
In Peterborough:
“Peterborough’s environment; green space, trails and parks” were identified as one of the best things about
Peterborough in the 2014 Vital Signs document.
Transportation in general was one of the major issues of the 2014 Municipal Election campaign. The Peterborough City County Health Unit (PCCHU) report on Active Transportation released last month acknowledges that active transportation rates are on the rise in the region. The report reflects how Peterborough moves and the impact of transportation choices.
The City presently has 58 kilometres of cycling facilities. The facilities include off-road multi-use trails, trails beside the road and on-road bike lanes. The proposed cycling network calls for an additional 83 km of on-road and 48 km of off-road cycling facilities. The cost of these projects is estimated at $24-33 million and they are expected to be implemented between 2012 and 2031. (PCCHU Report: Active Transportation)
The City of Peterborough passed a new Transportation Master Plan in 2012 that carries with it the following introduction:
“Peterborough’s 2012 Transportation Plan was initiated as an update of the 2002 Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The two plans chart a similar course in terms of policy direction. However, the 2012 Transportation Plan can be characterized as requiring a substantially smaller road capital program to support it, and having a greater emphasis on active transportation.”
The 187 page “Transportation Master Plan” report can be found at peterborough.ca
5. Creating a Sustainable City
In this section, Tapscott talks about water, energy and waste diversion measures in Guelph and the successes that community has seen in those areas.
In Peterborough:
Water Usage:
“In 2013, the Water Treatment Plant produced an average of almost 32,300,000 litres of water per day. That supplies all the needs of the city, including commercial, industrial, institutional and residential uses,” says Wayne Stiver, Vice President of the Water Utility for Peterborough. “An average person in the City uses about 230 litres of water per day and residential water use accounts for about 56% of the total City demand."
In response to the affect of the new water meter program, Stiver says, "we are estimating that our customers will use 10 to 15% less water on average and this is based solely upon our consultant's
estimate. We will need several years of data to determine the effects as weather can also play a huge part on water demand. We've had two fairly wet summers in a row and the outdoor water use has been below average in 2013 and 2014."
Energy Mix:
The City of Peterborough through Peterborough Utilities Inc has six power generation stations, generating a total of 33.5 megawatts currently. An upgrade for another 6 megawatts is in the works. The mix of generation includes hydro-electric, solar, and landfill gas.
In the 2013 Vital Signs Report, recycling and composting rates show 55% of household waste was diverted from landfill in 2012 in the City of Peterborough and 44% was diverted in the County of Peterborough. Both numbers are above comparable city and regional averages.
From the business community perspective, the business plan for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is there. In January of 2013, Sustainable Peterborough hosted author Bob Willard who explained that making green choices could improve your bottom line by between 51 and 81%. Several chamber members presented at the event and said that even though they made green changes for different reasons the end result is an improvement on their triple bottom line (profit, planet and people). Find the article under News/Voice of Business/January 17, 2014 on the Chamber website peterboroughchamber.ca
6. Transforming Social Services
“The digital revolution enables cities to better integrate social services, reducing cost and improving value,” says Don Tapscott in the Toronto Star article.
Guelph formed the Guelph Wellbeing Leadership Group to use the Canadian Index of Wellbeing to assess overall well-being and pool resources inside and outside government to find solutions.
In Peterborough:
The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough has completed two Vital Signs Reports in 2013 and 2014. This is essentially an overall snapshot of the well-being of our community.
The next step would be to take the information gathered in Vital Signs and assess how effective strategies and solutions can be found.
7. Reinventing Local Democracy
In this last point, Tapscott says Guelph is well on its way to shifting the relationship between government and citizens from “us vs. them” to “we’re in this together”, given the community involvement in the above list.
In Peterborough:
The new city council has four new members. Each council member has a passion for Peterborough and ideas on how to make Peterborough it’s most vibrant and enticing self. There will be budgets and issues at hand to be dealt with soon enough, but at this moment as the new council settles in to their posts it feels like a crossroads with opportunity stretching out in either direction.
Perhaps it’s time to take the “we’re in this together” vibe touted in various ways during the election campaign to the next level.
In the lobbying world there is a saying about how more can be done if groups have “skin in the game” or some type of invested interest in the outcome of an issue. We all have skin in this game and the opportunity to step up our game has never been greater.
Join us for more discussion on these topics at the “Connecting the Dots” Policy Forum on Thursday, November 27, 2014 at the Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront from 5:30pm – 8:00pm.
Comment through the “Peterborough Chamber” group of LinkedIn.
PtboChamber
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce was part of a group of Chambers of Commerce in the network to encourage government to go this route. The recommendations in the September 2013 report called “Predictable, Transparent, Fair: The Business Perspective on How to Set Ontario’s Minimum Wage” included adjusting the minimum wage every two years based on the cumulative change of CPI. The government has decided to make the change every year with an announcement made in April and the changes coming into effect October 1st of that year. 
