A business forum hosted by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce drew an audience of local business owners and tourism operators, who were presented with a wealth of information.
The first-time event was intended as an exploration of the state of the local economy, how it affects Niagara-on-the-Lake businesses, and how to create a better future for businesses without negatively impacting residents.
Town CAO Marnie Cluckie and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa both spoke, and participated in a “fireside chat” moderated by Paul MacIntyre, vice-president of operations at Lais Hotel Properties. The chat also included Chamber of Commerce CEO and president Minerva Ward, and was an opportunity for questions from the audience.
The forum was held at the Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery conference centre, with lunch provided, and although local comic Joe Pillitteri was on-hand to emcee the afternoon events, his time to entertain was cut short due to speakers running late.
Cluckie spoke of the town’s time during the pandemic as one of survival, and went over all the town did to help local businesses get through it, including a ShopNOTL website that included 260 businesses in the first two weeks it was online, and the development of a temporary patio program to help local restaurants.
“We were in a survival state — the whole world was for a time,” she said. “We banded together as a town for our survival.”
After survival came a time of striving to recover, she said. “It’s been less than a year since things opened completely, and we’re still in that striving stage, shifting over time.”
Cluckie spoke of town initiatives to move forward out of the pandemic, including achieving a sustainable budget, increasing capital programs, addressing provincial legislation such as Bill 23, and economic development initiatives such as a tourism strategy, a municipal accommodation tax, and focusing on a strategic plan that will develop “a road map for this term.”
Cluckie also spoke of a business retention and expansion program, designed to “keep existing businesses growing,” she said. The program allowed personal visits with business owners in town to see how they are doing, she explained. “Now we have to act on what we heard, and integrate that information into the tourism strategy.”
She also mentioned the many projects underway, including the Glendale Secondary Plan, and focusing on strategic growth and the development of a complete community. Creating a diverse and inclusive community with accessibility enhancements is also on the list of priorities, with youth and family programming, and a Recreation Master Plan.
And to help “pull it all together” are the strategic plan, the tourism strategy, the transportation master plan, and the Official Plan, all to “get to where we want to be. We have an excellent council, committed to taking you there in the next four years.”
“We choose to thrive,” she added. “That’s where council is taking us.”
Zalepa followed Cluckie, echoing her enthusiasm for the future of the town and all that is being planned to get it there. He spoke about the early people on the land, thousands of years ago, “including on this property,” he said, referring to the Ravine conference centre surrounded by vineyards, “and we’re the stewards of it now.”
“As we look at climate change we can see the challenges of managing it,” he said, using that as an example of a “challenge all levels of government have to look at.”
Zalepa is a strong proponent of working with upper levels of government, and spoke of the importance of developing government relationships and working with them on issues such as irrigation, Bill 23, heritage, the airport as an important tool in economic development, and climate change.
At meetings with other levels of government, he said, “Niagara-on-the-Lake is not hard to sell. People ask where you’re from, and there is immediate recognition — that’s something we sometimes take for granted. Let’s not take that for granted. Let’s leverage it. And let’s not forget how perfect we have it here.”
He admitted that “people’s eyes glass over” when strategic planning is mentioned, but explained it’s important to the community, and important for council to know where it should be going. “It gives us a chance to see what people want,” he said, and reduce that to a list of priorities “that everyone wants.”
Having a strategic plan helps council to stay focused on that list, “and not be distracted by pet issues. We want to be responsive to the majority of the community by getting those things done.”
The development of the tourism strategy, involving stakeholders, means that “at the end of it we’ll have a robust, clear set of items” that will help the town “manage the tourism sector properly,” he said.
Zalepa is in favour of “a shared delivery of services, and local people making local decisions.” But not amalgamation, he quickly adds. “Any time I see amalgamation, it doesn’t work well. And I convey that every chance I get.’”
He spoke of economic development and all the possibilities he sees, including in the marine industry.
“We are all blessed, but I think we really need to push forward . . . to build on what we have here today.”
Ward was next to speak — her morning presentation was about all the chamber does for the town and local businesses, including several events and support for the Ambassador Program, as well as its goals for 2023, which includes a “street level,” accessible space.
In the afternoon, she spoke of Niagara-on-the-Lake as “the small town with the power to lead,” specifically in its growing its role in the wine industry.
The town faces challenges: an aging population, labour shortages, workforce development challenges, infrastructure and affordable housing needs.
But at the same time “we have a huge competitive advantage,” she said: Its location near the border, scenery, charm, the Shaw Festival and Heritage District, the airport, shopping — from “whimsical boutiques to the outlet mall” — and not only wineries, but the growing brewery and distillery businesses.
She also referenced the culinary scene, the many festivals and events, the arts, accommodations and capacity for business events.
While day visitors are essential, “and every tourist is welcome in town,” she said, the chamber’s focus is on marketing to those who come and stay for a few days, and building on business events, especially during the shoulder season and on weekdays.
She stressed the gift NOTL has with its wine industry, and the town’s ability to attract people because of it. It can be a useful tool to increase tourism, she said, while being sensitive to residents, and a way to grow with less impact on those who live close to the tourism area.
“People in NOTL live in a fish bowl,” she said. “Their actual heritage homes are part of the attraction for visitors. Tourism has to be respectful of that community.”
One of the fireside-chat questions addressed that point — why are there not members of the public on the tourism strategy committee?
The answer, from both Cluckie and Zalepa, is that the committee of stakeholders is for governance, but there have already been three focus groups, and the committee will be looking at many months of data collection from public input.
Residents, Zalepa said, and all stakeholders in the process, “won’t be impeded by not having a role on the committee.”
Another question concerned building tourism without losing “the sense of character of the Old Town,” and that continued building and expanding tourism “will make it less desirable.”
Ward said the town has to act responsibly, understanding that residents live in the midst of tourism. “We have to be very careful how we grow, in keeping with what we already have.” Growth has to be “a measured response, and it has to be managed carefully, but we also can’t stand still as a destination.”
When asked if there was an ‘aha moment’ when looking at the results of public input for the strategic plan, Zalepa says his came when he realized how closely aligned most of the comments were.
“Everyone is on the same page. Certain things emerged, with similar challenges, such as public transportation and skills gaps. And with everyone on the same page,” he added, “we can really make this happen.”
At the top of the list is reliable transportation to get people to work. “I’m comfortable supporting public transportation, and will continue to do that,” Zalepa said.
MacIntyre also addressed the labour shortage, saying while residents have the impression the town is busy, and it is rebounding, it hasn’t reached pre-pandemic levels. Many restaurants are not open full time, some just five days a week, he said, when previously they were open seven days a week, “because we can’t meet the demand” due to lack of staff.
Ward agreed. “We’re better off than many other destinations but we’re not at pre-COVID levels yet.”
Tim Jennings, CEO of the Shaw Festival, said tickets aren’t going as fast as they would have pre-pandemic, with people still hesitating to make travel decisions. He asked about partnerships that might help the town, and was told by Zalepa that Parks Canada and Niagara Parks Commission “are really strong partners, and offer lots of exciting opportunities.”
“We are having those conversations all the time, and they are a huge part of it.”
In the afternoon, Blake Landry, an expert on economic research and analysis of the local economy, presented information that showed where Niagara has improved in recent years, and where it is lagging.
He talked about interest rates, and the importance of getting them back down, and said when it comes to GDP (gross domestic product), the best measure of the economy in a region, in the past Niagara has typically lagged against the rest of the province. “But now that’s starting to go up, which is very positive news in Niagara.”
Housing prices are also a plus for Niagara, with the cost of homes lower than the GTA and Hamilton. “Niagara is more affordable than other areas of Ontario,” and is attracting more young people with families, “in numbers we’ve never seen here before.”
While people have stored-up income from the pandemic that they could be spending now, he said, “an incline in interest rates causes a decline in the retail sector. But interest rates will change and the retail sector will improve, and Niagara will catch up with the province over time.”
Construction has seen growth in Niagara, “especially with all the people moving here. We need more houses.”
Niagara is also seeing “a gradual improvement” in construction in institutional and industrial sectors, he said.
“Companies are running out of space in the GTA and Hamilton, and are moving to Niagara.”
And more good news — during the pandemic, “Niagara was growing in exports, supplying other areas of the world,” with 90 per cent of its exports in manufacturing products.
Although there is a labour shortage in retail and hospitality sectors, there are more people working in Niagara than there have been for many years, with an unemployment rate that is “outperforming the rest of the province,” Landry said.
Niagara is still an older demographic, and during the pandemic many people made the decision to leave the workforce, while others found better jobs. Locally, there are still 1,000 jobs that have not filled, “mostly across hotels, hospitality and restaurants.”
The final speaker of the day was Erin Henderson, founder and chief sommelier of The Wine Sisters, a Toronto sommelier services and wine events company.
She spoke of a career path that led her to start her own business, the time during the early days of the pandemic when she didn’t think it would survive, and some of what she learned along the way that helped her survive. She used every opportunity she could to promote her business, she said, and noted the importance of respecting every single client, and being open to learning lessons from failures.
Also important, she said, is “listening to yourself, being true to yourself,” and suggested avoiding short cuts, “which are actually taking the long way. They always backfire," she said. Do what is right the first time, “or it will come back to bite you.”