Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy Draft Action Items available for public comment

Waterloo Region, Ontario – The Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy – Draft Action Items are now available for public review and comment.

Following extensive consultation with many stakeholders and community partners, a new “strategic direction” for economic development in Waterloo Region is taking shape. The Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy (WREDS) is nearing completion and is being presented to Regional and Area Municipal Councils over the summer of 2014. This includes proposed recommendations for the creation of a new Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation as a key addition to the regional economic development service delivery framework. 

With the completion of the “Strategic Directions” phase of the WREDS, a series of draft action items are now available for public comment. These actions will form the basis of the next steps of this process, turning strategy into on-the-ground action. To access these reports and to learn more about the strategy, members of the community are encouraged to visit the project website at www.wreds.ca. The Steering Committee is also requesting the public’s feedback, which will help to inform the implementation of this WREDS over the next several years.

“It is an exciting time in Waterloo Region. With the formation of an innovative strategy that includes aggressive goals and objectives, and the creation of a region-wide organization that can focus on turning those goals into actions, there will be many new opportunities for the community to work together and maximize the economic opportunities of the future,” said Gerry Remers, President and COO of Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc. and Chair of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Strategy Advisory Committee.

This work is being co-ordinated jointly by the Region of Waterloo, the Cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich and Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc., and guided by an advisory committee of community leaders. Building on the spirit of collaboration for which this region is known is a key factor in the creation of this new regional framework for economic development.

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Project Contacts:

Mike Murray, CAO, Region of Waterloo, mmurray@regionofwaterloo.ca

Gary Dyke, CAO, City of Cambridge, dykeg@cambridge.ca

Jeff Willmer, CAO, City of Kitchener, jeff.willmer@kitchener.ca

Tim Anderson, CAO, City of Waterloo, tim.anderson@waterloo.ca

Grant Whittington, CAO, Township of Wilmot, grant.whittington@wilmot.ca

Roger Mordue, CAO, Township of North Dumfries, rmordue@northdumfries.ca

Willis McLaughlin, CAO, Township of Wellesley, wmclaughlin@wellesley.ca

David Brenneman, CAO, Township of Woolwich, dbrenneman@woolwich.ca