The Town of Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation expect to enter into a partnership initiative for economic development.
“We are only one of eight municipalities across the country chosen for this partnership program,” said Saugeen Shores Economic Development Officer, Heather Hyde. “We are looking forward to participating in this stream.”
The three-year partnership under the Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI) funding program will run from 2022-2025 and is designed to improve the economic prosperity of First Nation through joint economic development planning and initiatives with adjacent municipalities.
The CEDI program is co-managed and delivered by the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) and the Federal of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), of which Saugeen Shores is a member.
The program is funded through a contribution agreement between CANDO, FCM and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
The three-year partnership program will consist of a working group made up of Council and staff from each community working together with the CEDI team to identify initiatives and opportunities for the two communities to jointly work together in order to further economic development goals.
According to the report submitted to Council at Monday night’s meeting (Jan. 10), some of the benefits of the program include
• A stronger, united voice for engaging with businesses and other orders of government;
• Increased ability to access funding from other orders of government;
• Cost savings and more efficient program and/or service delivery;
• More opportunities for local business development and jobs;
• Ability to leverage the unique financial, human, and physical resources of each partner;
• Coordinated planning efforts to improve land use, land management and environmental/resource protection.
In the fall of 2021, Economic Development Staff at Saugeen First Nation #29 and the Town of Saugeen Shores submitted a joint application to participate in the CEDI program and, after receiving approval, it is set to start early this year (2022), following confirmation of a resolution to be brought to Council by Town staff in the spring.
“I want to congratulate Heather and the staff at Saugeen First Nation for this success,” said Mayor Luke Charbonneau. “I look forward to the partnership that this will forge with our friends at Saugeen First Nations. This is a tremendous opportunity to work with them on tourism and other economic development initiatives and this is a really great way to start that process.”