 GPA EDC Board Chair - Tom Sayer |
 MPP Jeff Leal with encouraging words for small businesses |
Yesterday at the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation (210 Wolfe Street), the 2011 EPIC Ventures Winners were recognized for their contributions to Peterborough and area.
The recent unemployment statistic for the Peterborough area was welcomed news. The area’s unemployment rates for December had dropped to 7.3%—the lowest level in 27 months. As is typical of the public reaction to such good news, there is little discussion of it. It is like it was meant to be.
When the news of a much higher rate of unemployment in the area hit the streets, it was difficult not to end up in a discussion with someone—anyone—about who was to blame for it. Now that there is good news, no one has been asking who should get the credit. So goes Canadian culture.
In the end, punishment or reward is not the real issue. The real issue is how to maintain a low level of unemployment. History, however, has some lessons that can help us deal with unemployment—if we’re willing to learn from its lessons.
The general, historical pattern of unemployment in this area is that the unemployment rate falls between May and November each year. The bad news is that it rises between November and May. That means that in the Spring, we will likely be getting news that unemployment is up again.
An indicator of the health of the local economy will be, in part, the degree to which unemployment increases between now and May. If it goes back to a level over 10%, as it was in 2010, the economy will, once again, not be doing well. Any level under 10%, the news is good—in relative terms.
The volatility of unemployment is a problem in itself. If there were ways for us to creatively develop what economists call "countercyclical" activities that would reduce the swings in unemployment over a year, the stability that would come with it could, in itself, promote economic growth.
It seems rather obvious that the May-to-November decrease and November-to-May increase pattern has systemic roots. That is, there is something about economic activity in the area, as a whole, that leads to these results. The seasonality of a lot of activities related to the weather—from construction to tourism—clearly has an impact.
However, with dismally poor performance in productivity across Canada—including our area—there must be something we can do to treat the historical pattern as an opportunity to provide a meaningful experience for the larger group of unemployed in the November-to-May period. This would have the potential to improve their productivity and future employment prospects.
There are a number of activities that could be developed to address the lethargy of the November-to-May phenomena. To address how to do this, however, requires that we consider activities that are non-traditional, in one degree or another.
For instance, providing incentives for businesses and other organizations to offer employment opportunities— even if they were in short-term contracts that could possibly lead to full-time employment—could contribute positively to the Winter/Spring malaise. This could be addressed by any, or all, levels of government, and perhaps even by private- and public-sector organizations in their planning of activities over a year.
There could be, with some creative program timing and content, education and training opportunities offered locally that would cater to those who most often experience unemployment during this period. This kind of programming could improve their prospects for future, long-term employment, make them more productive when they are employed, and could be taken as credit toward recognized certificates, diplomas, or degrees. This would require some non-traditional scheduling, programming, and methods for delivering educational and training opportunities that fit the realities of the local unemployment cycle.
I am not aware of there being concerted effort—across all sectors—to address economic realities of the employment cycle in the area. However, with a collective willingness—socially, politically, and organizationally—we can address this issue and turn the unemployment rollercoaster into a smoother, more pleasant ride.
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Tom Phillips Ph. D. Phillips is Economist & Sustainability Director - Greater Ptbo Innovation Cluster.]
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Jo Anne’s Place Health Foods was a GPA EDC EPIC Ventures Winner, and its Senior Manager Paul Hudson was pleasantly surprised with being rewarded it...
At this time of year, we often reflect on where we've been and look to where we may go. In economic terms where we have been is a lot clearer than where we might go. However, taking a longer term view there are some hints about where we could go, if we chose to go there.
Peterborough, in general terms, has seen two quite different economic eras—an era when natural resources and agriculture dominated—the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and a manufacturing era that was at its peak in the middle of the last century. Between these two eras was a period of transformation. In this period new ways of doing business began to emerge, new roles for government became clearer, even the roles within families and families themselves changed to take advantage of the new opportunities of the manufacturing era.
For the sake of perspective, if we were to think of the age of transformation being five years before the beginning of WWI (1909) and five years after the end of WWII (1950), we can see an era of enormous development technologically that was accompanied by unprecedented changes in social roles. In the forty-one years from 1909 to 1950, Peterborough was transformed. In that transformation, the fundamental functioning of the Peterborough economy changed. In effect, the two eras are two very different economies with very different economic relationships.
As much as many mainstream economists—the ones who led us into the current economic mess—would like us to believe that the fundamentals of economies are not subject to history, politics, or culture, the reality is they are. Separating fact from myth reveals very different economic characteristics in different technological and socioeconomic eras—not common underlying behaviours. What can we learn from this?
It has been forty-one years since what could be considered the beginning of the end of the era dominated by manufacturing. 1971 was just prior to the OPEC oil crisis that signalled the beginning of a long struggle with inflation that was combined with high rates of unemployment, and difficult economic times. Peterborough was not immune to this economic disease, and for those who went through it, it was clear that things would never be the way they were no matter how much we wished they could be. Like it or not, another era of transformation began in the early 1970s and we continue to find ourselves in it today.
In the tranformation, old ways of doing many things were left behind—technologically and socially—and new, creative opportunities were pursued. Change was embraced rather than seen as a threat. Of course, in an era of transformation that included two World Wars separated by the Great Depression is a very different circumstance than we face today.
The lesson from history—not from economics—is that the foundations of economic growth in the past are not sufficient to support the prosperity we are capable of in the future. The longer it takes for us to figure out how to build the new foundation, the more difficult the transition will be. It is time to get on with creative change in the way we do things right here in Peterborough.
Thankfully, we have within the community what it takes to move forward. To support the transition, we have a large creative class that will provide news ways to get things done. This class according to Richard Florida’s work, and a recent description of it by Dan Taylor, CEO of the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation and the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster, show that not only does the creative class drive innovation, it is also an economic driver onto itself.
Thirty percent of the population belongs to the creative class. Those in the creative class earn significantly more than average and possess seventy percent of total disposable income. In a time of transformation the creative class is where the jobs are, and the results of their work will bring more jobs across the whole community.
All indications are that we have all the pieces in place that can lead to a new era of prosperity here in Peterborough. We have a creative class that can lead innovation. We have the resources—people, money, and technologies—necessary to move forward. The question is: Do we have the will to embrace new ways of doing business, new roles for government, new approaches to education, etc., so that we can use the resources we have at hand to their best advantage? How can we combine and integrate what we do have in creative, productive ways.
Rest assured that if we cling to the ways of an older era, communities less well blessed with resources will embrace new, productive ways. Their success will make ours that much longer and more difficult to achieve. This could be the time for us to take the leap—including a leap of faith—into a new era of creativity, opportunity, and prosperity.
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Contributed by PtboCanada's Tom Phillips Ph. D. Phillips is Economist & Sustainability Director - Greater Ptbo Innovation Cluster.
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With Canada suffering less than most industrial nations from the global economic malaise, we tend to think that we are ahead in the economic "game". In fact, for more than a decade we have lagged behind in productivity—e.g. production of goods and services per worker—than most industrial nations.
Each year, the gap between us and other more productive nations gets bigger. We talk—more like whisper—about this, but we rarely do anything concrete about it. We wait for something to happen that will turn us around. Maybe a decade of waiting is long enough. It is time to act.
In 2012, let's stop waiting for big government, bigger corporations, the rest of the world, or the "universe" to do it for us and do what it takes, right here in Peterborough, to become more productive.
Think of it this way. We, in Peterborough, have received a Christmas present—a new jigsaw puzzle. In its sturdy box, the puzzle contains all the pieces we need to solve the productivity puzzle. We've unwrapped the puzzle, looked at the picture on the front of the box, but we have not yet opened the box. Between Christmas and New Years, we've talked to family and friends about the picture on the box (no one seems to know exactly what it is—kind of abstract, it seems), so we still haven’t opened it.
According to the instructions, there are pieces that represent aspects of the work being done at Fleming College, Trent University, PRHC, OMNR, GE, Siemens, SGS Lakefield Research, Rolls Royce, QTG Pepsico-Frito Lay, Operitel, McColl Turner, LLF, Merit Precision, Steel Works, Page Design, the City and County of Peterborough, a vibrant and creative downtown, talented and ambitious people, and enough technology to sustain much larger communities than Peterborough.
Still, we’re talking more about putting the pieces together than actually trying to do it. We are not alone in this. Many communities are in the same situation. The competitive reality is that the community that puts the puzzle together first will reap the greatest economic benefit.
When we finally open the box and spread the pieces on the table, there is one thing we can be sure of: The puzzle will not be put together by the invisible hand of the market. It will only come together from our will to act, and the action itself.
We, in Peterborough, have all the pieces—resources—we need but we need to complete it, but we need a new way to put this difficult puzzle together. Old ways of putting puzzles together simply will not work. We need to creatively and collectively find new ways to solve the puzzle; news ways to benefit from the resources available for us to use.
And we need to do it right here in Peterborough.
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[Contributed by PtboCanada's Tom Phillips Ph. D. Phillips is Economist & Sustainability Director - Greater Ptbo Innovation Cluster.]
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In no particular order, here we go...
1. A place(s) to play ping pong in downtown Peterborough.
2. PCVS
3. More hilarious tweets from @/PTBO_Y_U_NO.
4. More jobs being created in Peterborough.
5. Buses running later at night in Peterborough. It's near impossible to get a cab when the bars close. And we don't want to see people ever drinking and driving.
6. More music and cultural festivals. The more, the merrier. (Our music scene is one of the best in Canada.)
7. More people biking on Peterborough's streets and trails. More people biking in general.
8. The Peterborough Petes in the playoffs.
9. More great music acts at the likes of Historic Red Dog, Market Hall, Showplace, The Spill, Spanky's and Gordon Best.
10. More plaid.
11. An authentic Irish pub.
12. PCVS
13. More restaurants and businesses opening, and less closing.
14. Less blackouts for no real reason.
15. Reggie's launching a hot dog version of their burger.
16. More tourists coming to our great city.
17. More great anti-bullying programs in the city. More people standing up to bullies.
18. More Creative Cocktails, which was one of the best things to come to Peterborough this year.
19. More funny typos on signs.
20. Continued generosity of Peterborough community.
21. A continued resurgence of the downtown—and the continued good work of the DBIA.
22. Continued transparency from city council, the Mayor's office and our tweeting Mayor, who has settled into the role nicely and is having a great first year in office.
23. A couple town hall meetings. Or one. Hey, why not? Healthy thing to try to bring community together.
24. People doing random things like dancing on bubble wrap.
25. Another great Festival of Trees downtown.
26. More Tom Phillips columns.
27. More people trying breakfast at The Only Cafe. It's worth the wait.
28. More readers submitting tips.
29. More local people and businesses joining the Twitterverse.
30. More parody accounts on Twitter. Good satire can be a great equalizer.
31. Continued development of the Peterborough Wednesday Market and Saturday Farmer's Market.
32. A splash pad at Nicholl's Oval.
33. PCVS
34. Peterborough Roller Derby taking off.
35. Less domestics on police reports. Less drug busts. Less break and enters. Less stabbings. Less crime. More jobs.
36. More flash mobs around Peterborough.
37. CP Rail bridge gets fixed, allowing pedestrian walkway/bikeway again (and our shortcut back to East City)
38. More Peterborough playlists.
39. The return of 4 Dudes On The Balcony.
40. More Stormtroopers. More Band Wagons.
41. Continued impact/recognition of Peterborough's Creative Class.
42. More shocked looks on the faces of visitors to our Zoo when they discover it's free.
43. Peterborough Square and Portage Place making an Eighties comeback.
44. Less complaining and whining about what's wrong with the city, and more solutions for how to fix things.
45. More/continued attention to the amazing artists, musicians and athletes in this city.
46. PCVS
47. A show called Culturally Speaking on TV Cogeco as spinoff of Politically Speaking.
48. The excellent owners of the now closed Have You Seen... returning with a new venture.
49. More people visiting our awesome galleries and museums—the Canadian Canoe Museum is world class.
50. Not as many people wearing pajamas as outdoor wear.
51. A town square. Well, at least more discussion about it.
That's it, you rock.
What do you hope to see in Peterborough in 2012? Add to our comments section below.
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Electric City Lights Show & Sale by Gallery in the House took place over the weekend. Here's pictures:
[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]
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This year's Focus Fair takes place at The Spill this weekend (December 10th and 11th). Click here to view pictures from last year's to give you a flavour.
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[pictures by PtboCanada's Christi Morton]
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