Greater Sudbury mayoral candidate Jeff Huska said Greater Sudbury has a lot to offer, including reasonably-priced housing, less driving time and great public facilities.
He said he'd like to attract businesspeople who want to get away from the big city to have a better quality of life, without having to give up their jobs.
Huska said if elected, he would partner with any organization willing to set up a “shared hub” of small offices that encompasses a state-of-the-art communications centre so they can work from here.
This initial “hub” would be advertised to all the major corporations in the larger cities as a preferred option for employees willing to relocate to a less expensive, less stressful, family-oriented city, he said.
All it takes is a few businesses to move north and the rest will follow. Healthier, happier employees increase productivity, Huska said. The benefits to these companies and to our city as a whole are endless if we move on this now.
Full text of Huska's news release is below:
Many of us already realize what an amazing place Greater Sudbury is to live and to work, especially if you want to raise a family. If you are presently located in a large city such as Toronto and are looking to relocate, there are countless benefits to living here.
More people today (young and old) are leaving large metropolitan cities every year in search of smaller places that are more conducive to a less stressful, more family orientated way of life.
In comparison to a place such as Toronto, imagine living in a city with lower housing costs, access to affordable recreational facilities and access to beaches and clean lakes to swim.
There is also a first-class health care facility, great schools, numerous outdoor parks and noticeably less congestion. Just think you can still have premium coffee shops, great restaurants and bars that are for the most part, all within 20 minutes of anywhere in Greater Sudbury.
That’s only the start of what we can offer. It’s just a small slice of “the good life” that Greater Sudbury can provide to a wide spectrum of people from anywhere really, in the world.
So the obvious question of course is, where are they going to work? Many young people are moving away for post-secondary education and not coming back. If we can’t offer them full time employment now, why would anyone else come here?
They may not come back right away but, if the city can make the necessary changes, they will. Especially if we can offer a healthier lifestyle and a smaller hometown feeling. Greater Sudbury has an incredible amount of potential to attract people and is missing a huge opportunity to become “the city of choice.”
Let me explain. As many of you can appreciate the 21st century is quickly redefining on a daily basis what the digital age has become and where it’s going.
It wasn’t long ago that you needed to live in close proximity to your place of employment, regardless if the city had any amenities that made you feel like calling it home.
Today, more and more people are working remotely from their home, small business offices or shared working environments that are located distances from their corporate headquarters.
There are an overwhelming number of companies that are downsizing in terms of infrastructure and allowing this “digital age” of new technology to dictate how they operate. Video conferencing is replacing expensive boardroom meetings and extravagant expense accounts that could result in huge corporate losses and employment cutbacks.
If on-site or in person meetings are required, remember we are only 45 minutes by plane to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport or the Toronto Island Airport. We really are that close.
Film, IT, media, architecture, advertising, accounting, are just a few examples of viable, sustainable employment that are information based and utilize digital technology.
It’s already happening in our hospitals where doctors and nurses utilize, via the internet, virtual communication to aid medical teams located in smaller rural centers.
As a city we need to position ourselves as a provincial leader in digital communications and begin a marketing campaign now to get ahead of other communities.
As your next Mayor, I will promote and partner with any organization willing to set up a “shared hub” of small offices that encompasses a state-of-the-art communications center.
This initial “hub” would be advertised to all the major corporations in the larger cities as a preferred option for employees willing to relocate to a less expensive, less stressful, family-oriented city.
All it takes is a few businesses to move north and the rest will follow. Healthier, happier employees increase productivity. The benefits to these companies and to our city as a whole are endless if we move on this now.
Jeff Huska
2018 Mayoral Candidate
For more about Huska's candidacy, visit his Sudbury.com election page.
