By Don Fraser QMI Agency
Niagara was in an economic storm in 1991 and the clouds were darkening.
A recession was pounding the region, with huge job losses and economic misery.
Unemployment was at 14% — the second highest in Canada.
General Motors was slashing its workforce. Businesses were folding and broke tourists were staying put.
That's when Brian Merrett got the call — "what do you think about heading up the Niagara Regional Development Corp.?"
Merrett, then Niagara regional chair, remembers having mixed thoughts.
"I asked the question, 'Why do I want this job?'" laughs Merrett, now CEO of the War of 1812 Bicentennial Legacy Council.
"But we rallied and we got to work."
He recalls the corporation playing a vital role as Niagara struggled back to life.
"We knocked on doors, went out and sought companies," he said. "We might assist companies that wanted to move here, who might have had issues, like water or sewage (concerns)."
Adversity brought economic players together, said Merrett.
Some of those parties included businesses, the public sector, labour and sometimes parochial local governments.
Now, Niagara's economy is again at a crossroads.
And so is the arm's-length body created to bolster its business community.
Unemployment is stubbornly high, and new technologies and smaller businesses are overtaking large-scale manufacturing for jobs.
Meanwhile on June 22, a regional task force will present a report that could affect the existence of the agency, now known as the Niagara Economic Development Corp. That comes after a new council decided on the review back in March.
Its recommendations could completely overhaul how economic development services are handled by the Region.
For citizens, it could ultimately affect the types of business and jobs that come to the area.
Any new economic development measures could also influence the kinds of enterprises that are encouraged to stay here and grow.
This, after a previous regional council weighed the findings of a consultant's report from the Randolph Group last October.
Despite critics' calls to scrap the economic development agency, council decided behind closed doors to maintain it.
Options that are still on the table include folding the agency's work into a regional department, or some hybrid of the two.
Merrett agrees the time has come for a revisit.
"Any kind of agency like this needs to get refocused, retooled, freshened from time to time," he said. "The marketplace and issues our local companies are dealing with are changing."
The NEDC itself is a board-run, non-profit body with a $1.9-million annual budget.
Its mandate is to advance economic prosperity in Niagara and promote the region globally, while working with the 12 municipalities to boost investment and attract and retain jobs.
The agency also links with public and private sector partners to market the region for investment, playing a key role in convincing firms to relocate here and find suitable digs.
Patrick Robson, the Region's commissioner of integrated community planning, pointed out one shortcoming by the Randolph report in these efforts: No way to measure concrete results.
Currently, success is measured by things like the number of contacts made, "as opposed to how many deals were closed, jobs created," said Robson, who's helping co-ordinate the task force.
Region Chair Gary Burroughs says it's clear economic development in Niagara is at a pivotal point.
"I think the role will be much more clearly defined after this is done," he said.
An update has already been provided that signals the "status-quo is not satisfactory," he said.
"I don't think it meets the needs of this particular council."
Burroughs said it's important to remember the core function of economic development — getting new firms to locate here and helping existing businesses stay vital.
Niagara has thousands of enterprises, he adds. Most are small, with fewer than 20 employees. Burroughs himself was the former owner of the Oban Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
"Many small businesses are just busy surviving," he said. "And this sector is an incredible feature of our community.
"From the hotel standpoint, back then I didn't know the Region and the province might have programs, or about possible connections at Niagara College and Brock University. I didn't know there might be something out there. And I didn't have the time to investigate."
The NEDC has weathered a 40-year evolution of mandates and mergers.
Its origins trace to 1971, when the newly created Niagara Region council took a hard look at developing the region's tourism industry.
The result was the Regional Niagara Tourist Council, whose focus included promotional campaigns and destination marketing. Ten years later, the region was in crisis and mired in a job-killing recession that predated Merrett's economic downturn.
The Niagara Regional Development Corp. was formed out of the need to spur more growth.
By 1996, regional council amalgamated the two and the Niagara Economic and Tourism Corp. was born.
Nine years later, it tightened its focus to business development and investment and became the Niagara Economic Development Corp. In recent years, the role of the 15-employee agency has become more defined.
Now, its top jobs are promoting an economic growth strategy and building a stronger Niagara voice and competitive business environment.
The NEDC also seeks to develop emerging clusters, like biotechnology and interactive media.
It is also marketing the Niagara brand — notably, a Niagara Original small "n" logo used to highlight the area's assets that different businesses can adapt for their own marketing.
The agency has seen a number of undeniable successes.
Last year alone, it helped with the relocation of Attar Metals Inc. and Laurcoat Industrial Coatings to Niagara, leading to the creation of more than 70 jobs.
Meanwhile, a new Niagara Regional Tourism Organization is meant to co-ordinate tourism funding for the region. It's one of 13 similar new agencies across the province.
Yet, the NEDC has its own separate Tourism Niagara website and Gateway Niagara information centre.
Whatever the recommended changes, it's clear something needs to be done, said task force member and Niagara regional councillor Debbie Zimmerman.
"What I found most interesting is not so much that NEDC is broken as a framework," she said. "It's the relationships that need to be repaired."
That includes links to other economic development bodies in Niagara.
"The business community is caught with trying to manoeuvre through these different levels."
In the meantime, NEDC's acting CEO Alan Teichroeb said it's business as usual for the agency.
"On a day-to-day basis, we continue to work on a variety of projects," Teichroeb said, declining comment on the task force and what it might recommend.
History Niagara Economic Development Corp.
— In 1971, regional council creates Regional Niagara Tourist Council;
— By 1981, Niagara Regional Development Corp. is created;
— In 1996, regional council amalgamates the tourist and development agencies into Niagara Economic and Tourism Corp.;
— It is rebranded as Niagara Economic Development Corp. in 2005.
The NEDCs key roles
— implement an economic growth strategy;
— build a stronger collective voice for Niagara;
— create a competitive business environment;
— develop emerging clusters, like tech industries;
— improve transportation and related infrastructure within Niagara;
— market the Niagara brand outside the region;
— develop Niagara's business talent pool.
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