This week on Thunder Bay Votes: The issues that matter, we ask, is Thunder Bay open for business?
The President of the local Chamber of Commerce believes it will benefit the city to change the way it works with businesses.
Charla Robinson’s proposed changes include giving city hall staff the power to be more flexible when working with new or growing businesses, along with reducing the amount of paperwork.
She would also like the city to make it simpler for businesses to get started and that includes, setting standards for services businesses need from city hall.
Robinson feels the city’s by-laws don’t make it easy for innovative businesses to get established, pointing to a local brewery as an example.
The chamber president notes the company had to go through a lot of work with city administration to define what kind of a business they were. Were they a manufacturer or retail store? Were they a food outlet or were they a manufacturer?
In addition, Robinson wants the city to come up with a long-term plan to make sure Thunder Bay takes advantage of the economic opportunities she believes are available.