A quick reminder for all residents of North Bay, that tomorrow night is “Chamber Meet & Greet the Candidates” night at the Grande Event Centre. The event commences at 6:00 p.m. and will run through until 8:00 p.m. Members of the public will have a chance to ask questions of all candidates running for council and Mayoral candidates who have registered for the event. Although this is not a formal debate, it will allow the voting public to meet the candidates and discuss their platforms for the upcoming municipal election. We encourage all to drop in and visit with the candidates.
For the past few weeks, we have been surveying our membership regarding the upcoming election. Our survey is asking our business community, from across our district, “What are the issues they are concerned about, in their individual municipalities?”. We have had tremendous response from our members and from the general-public, as well. The survey is open for anyone to provide their input and will be open until Friday, September 14, 2018 @ 4:00 p.m. If you are interested in participating in our survey, please access through our website @ nbdcc.ca.
Last Tuesday’s Council meeting was, the final meeting before the election. During the meeting, among other items for discussion and decisions, the Transient Accommodation Tax proposal was discussed and unanimously passed by City Council. From a business perspective, this was timely, and the support received by Council will go a long way in promoting our City to the world. As many municipalities adopt the Provincial Legislation to impose the tax, it is important that we level the playing field and compete on an equal footing. You can be assured that every other municipality will be and have been, competing for the tourist dollars and that includes all forms of tourism. Congratulations to Council for recognizing the importance of this item.
The “tax” which will be added to accommodation bills will eventually, probably be charged by every municipality in the Province. Yes, it is a tax however, will not be funded directly, by the municipal tax rolls. It will provide a stream of funds that will be utilized to promote our City and allow for dedicated funds to the City, for “Tourism” infrastructure projects that Council may want to proceed with. We at the Chamber, look forward to working with Tourism North Bay in the future to attract and promote our City and District, to the ever-shrinking world.
Peter Chirico is the President & CEO of the North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce.
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