Council approves economic development and tourism strategic plan

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The Town of Kirkland Lake now has an economic development and tourism strategic plan that outlines a comprehensive approach to invigorate the local economy and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors. 

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The plan, which was approved during Tuesday night’s (Dec.3) council meeting and presented to council by Director of Development and Enterprise Services Dan Laverdure along with Julie Gonyou, Director, Management Consulting and Municipal Services, StrategyCorp., is comprised of two parts, economic development and tourism. 

Looking closer at the document and the section describing the approach the town will take in developing an economic development strategy, the mission statement for the economic development component will be to “promote and support a thriving economic and social environment in Kirkland Lake by prioritizing infrastructure improvements, promoting diversified housing options, and enhancing local partnerships to benefit both businesses and the community. With that the vision for future economic development in town is that “Kirkland Lake will be recognized as a vibrant, forward-thinking community that champions business innovation and offers a superior quality of life, making it the location of choice for businesses and residents.” 

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With that, the key focal points will include business attraction and retention, infrastructure improvements, housing expansion and tourism enhancement. 

In terms of the tourism component of the document, it states “the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2025-2030 will help guide the KLTDC in developing a strong tourism program that will shape tourism in the years to come resulting in a sector that contributes to the growth and development of Kirkland Lake.” 

The mission will be “to elevate Kirkland Lake’s profile by leveraging our unique historical and natural resources to offer unmatched outdoor and cultural experiences. We aim to attract visitors by creating engaging tourism opportunities that drive economic and cultural enrichment for our community and its visitors.” 

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And the strategic priorities will be to Define and market (the) Kirkland Lake experience, enhance community and cultural assets and lastly the plan is to have a tourism support framework.” 

After the presentation Mayor Stacy Wight stated that while overall, she was thrilled with what was contained in the report, she did have concerns regarding certain costs that, according to the report, would come out of the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT). 

“I am thrilled with much of this plan. It is just incredible, and I do believe, wholeheartedly, that this was a piece that was missing from Kirkland Lake for far too long. 

The mayor added she believes the plan will “raise Kirkland Lake’s profile” provincially thereby increasing tourism and revenues for the municipality. 

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“I think we are really on the right path to support our business sectors.” However, she added “I wonder how much of this can be accomplished in house (because) it seems like in the report many more dollars maybe spent on reports and studies and consultant fees, so I am a little bit concerned with some of those points.” 

She went on to say that in 2019 when she first brought the MAT to council it was her intent that funds go directly to user groups and not be gobbled up “by staff wages and consultant fees.” 

Council Casey Owens echoed the mayor’s concerns. “I don’t agree that the MAT should be spent on staff or any consultants. It should be on hands on stuff, stuff people can see.” 

In response to the concerns, director of development and enterprise services, Dan Laverdure stated “keeping in mind that the MAT tax, the way its distributed currently, is 50 percent, of net, to the tourism development corporation, 50 percent to economic development reserve; items such as what the mayor and the councillor mentioned, can be items that can definitely be drawn from the economic development reserve, which doesn’t take away from the money that is for sector enhancements and tourism related items. So that is an item that can be looked at.” 

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Laverdure added “I think I would like to speak to the comment regarding additional consultancy being a possible issue. I look at the economic development tourism plan as a framework for how we move forward because as madam mayor has said, this is from the ground up, that this is what we didn’t have, the missing piece. There may be items we have to bring to council to execute the plan as is needed. 

Speaking with the Northern News after the meeting, Laverdure further explained the types of costs that could result while implementing the plan. 

“There is definitely going to be things regarding assets, photography, marketing, assets that cannot be sourced in house. We will have to look outside of the town (staff).” 

In terms of timelines the report notes the implementation for what would be considered short term goes is one to two years and the long-term goals would be three to five years. 

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