Coast of Bays Representative Attends the Economic Developers Association of Canada's (EDAC) Annual Conference

Conrad Collier with Peter Fawcett, Canadian Trade Commissioner to Denmark

Conrad Collier with Grant Manuge, Canadian Trade Commissioner to Italy

Conrad Collier with Simon Doyon,
Canadian Trade Commissioner to the Netherlands
 From September 11 - 14, Conrad Collier represented the Coast of Bays Corporation at the Economic Developers Association of Canada's (EDAC) 31st Professional Development Conference held in Hamilton, Ontario.

The three day conference was wide ranging in scope covering topics such as:

  • the redevelopment of idle, abandoned, under-utilized properties within the urban boundaries into assessment generating and revitalized sectors of the community,
  • site selection criteria for industrial development and marketing strategies used,
  • the benefits of a "wired" community and the advantages for plant location and economic growth,
  • financing municipal megaprojects,
  • deregulation of the power utilities and what it means for economic developers, and
  • utilizing federal programs to attract investment.

The conference was an excellent venue to meet with various Trade Commissioners to promote the Coast of Bays region and to determine if any opportunities exist for our region to participate in a foreign marketplace. These meetings also gave Conrad the opportunity to inquire of the expectations of the European tourist when they plan a visit. Notes of these meetings are being compiled and will be deseminated within the next week.


Conrad Collier with Paul Desbiens, Canadian Trade Commissioner to Belgium

Conrad Collier with Lee-Ann Hermann,
Canadian Trade Commissioner to Germany

Conrad Collier with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Price. Mr. Price is a councillor and ex-mayor of Sheffield, England		 In addition to the seminars and meetings, there were some very good after-dinner speakers. The most notable speaker, in my opinion, was Mr. Peter Price a councillor and ex-mayor of the City of Sheffield, England. Sheffield had been an industrial city for many decades involved in steel-related industries. If you check your flatware used at home, you might find that some of it was manufactured at Sheffield. Mr. Price gave an interesting presentation about how Sheffield (pop. 520,000) had been a bustling industrial city into the late 1970s with less than a 3% unemployment rate, suffered a 60,000 job loss over three years bringing its unemployment rate to over 15% and rose again to become the European centre for sports with the unemployment rate currently at 6.8% and is still decreasing.

At this conference as well, the Coast of Bays Coporation was awarded two national awards for its promotional literature to be used for investment prospecting.

For more information about the Coast of Bays region, contact:
Tracey Perry, Executive Director
Coast of Bays Corporation
P.O. Box 310
St. Alban's, Newfoundland
A0H 1P0
Phone: 709-538-3552
Fax: 709-538-3627
E-mail: inquiries@coastofbays.nl.ca

Last Revised on September 27, 1999