Hamilton looks to create Task Force to guide city’s economic recovery

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Published April 27, 2020 at 12:48 pm

A motion before Hamilton City Council this week is looking to establish a task force whose goal will be to support and guide the city’s economic recovery once the threat of COVID-19 passes.

A motion before Hamilton City Council this week is looking to establish a task force whose goal will be to support and guide the city’s economic recovery once the threat of COVID-19 passes.

The motion, introduced by Ward 6 councillor Tom Jackson, calls on the city’s Director of Economic Development and Director of Tourism and Culture to develop the Terms of Reference for the creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Recovery.

The motion, which will be in front of council at Wednesday’s (April 29) meeting, asks that the Task Force be made up of representatives of local business, industry, labour, and the academic community and others as needed.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, as much as it is a public health challenge, is also an economic challenge,” the motion states.

“The health and safety of our community remain our primary concern, we also need to begin to look beyond COVID-19 pandemic to ensure our local economy is well-positioned to rebound from this crisis as quickly as possible.”

The Task Force will also be expected to provide a report on the city’s recent online Business Impact Survey that hundreds of local businesses filled out and which identified the economic impacts of COVID-19 on key industry groups in Hamilton, according to the motion.

Calls for the Task Force come as the Provincial Government looks ready to unveil plans late Monday (April 27) for the reopening of Ontario.

It is clear, however, that given the recent announcement that Ontario’s schools will remain closed until at least May 31, any chance of restrictions being lifted will be, at minimum, weeks in the future.

Premier Doug Ford has also hinted that any reopening of the province will entail a phased and gradual approach to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19.

In Canada, Ontario is second behind Quebec in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases, with 14,432 versus 24,107 confirmed cases and 835 deaths versus 1,515 in Quebec.

In Hamilton, the city is currently reporting 401 COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths.

Last week, the city announced that they were among a group of Canadian municipalities calling on the federal government to provide approximately $10 billion in emergency relief for cities grappling with the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Wednesday’s virtual City Council meeting will be streamed on the City’s YouTube channel and is scheduled to get underway at 9:30 a.m.

— With a file from The Canadian Press

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