September 29, 2000

The Honourable Tony Clement, M.P.P.
Minister of Municipal Affairs
Government of Ontario
17^th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, ON  MG5 2E5

Dear Minister Clement:

Re:  Chamber of Commerce Position on Government Restructuring

As the “Voice of Business,” The Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce represents over 1,350 business members who collectively employ over 80,000 people in the Windsor and Essex County area.

Our mandate is to be the mechanism to promote and preserve the business and entrepreneurial environment essential to the development of a healthy economic community, which leads to a higher quality of life.

In this regard, the Chamber of Commerce actively works with government to ensure the business and investment climate in our region remains competitive. Any issues, which restrict our ability to attract new business or expand existing business, must be resolved.

While we are mindful of the political debate relating to this issue, the Chamber feels that it is imperative to put political concerns aside for the betterment of the region.  In this regard, the Chamber encourages you do everything in your power to foster an immediate resolution on government restructuring/boundary adjustment.  Left unresolved this issue will impede economic growth in the area of Windsor and Essex County as a whole.

The area of Windsor and Essex County has seen tremendous economic growth in recent years and the Chamber does not want to see this diminish as a result of the parties involved not reaching a timely resolution.  We should never lose sight of the fact that we are in a competitive market in trying to attract investment.  It is challenging enough to capture new investment, let’s not push it away because of issues such as this.

Sincerely,

James E. (Ted) Farron