CarletonPlace.com

We do offer high technology, software development, electronic components, fibre optics, and a broad mix from Spar Aerospace. We lost Hart's but have gained Heritage Brewery. The Canadian Co-Operative Wool Growers Ltd. grades and processes wool. We have furniture manufacturing. And there is no intent here to slight anyone by omission.

But doesn't it seem that we should have more manufacturing in Carleton Place? What are the constraints?

We grow wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, etc in our immediate vicinity. Why is no one stepping up to the processing of these items? And maybe even developing new products?

Let's have some ideas. What would you think might work?

Check out the Economic development discussion in Political

Thanks rad1. But I already did, assuming you are referring to the recent updates. Everything just morphs into transportation issues.

Bring back the Milkman!  I wish we had our own dairy. Anyone remember Petersen's Ice Cream.  That's when ice cream was real ice cream.  I remember the milk being delivered in glass bottles daily along with butter, cream and eggs.  They had standing orders.  And then, there was the breadman and by golly the fruit and vegetable man.  We used to chase him down the street just to get hold of the rare treat... a pomegranite.  Better times.

Hi Lady,

Ed

Sorry about that Ed.  That hit old nostalgia button to be sure.  I don't know what the answer is to that difficult question.  After working for Nortel for 25 years and being outsourced to an "outsourcing" company, who eventually outsourced me to India; unless we have comparable wages, we will lose out on that kind of job.

Unless of course you are talking about innovation.  Perhaps our fearless leaders (?) can provide some R&D money. Right now all the bright minds are being picked over by mutli-nationals while the rest of us who are not so bright (speaking for myself of course) wish they had the Milkman's job just to keep things going.   

What's wrong with making ice cream?  When I win the lottery, I'll help the town.

Good news for Nortel employees, McGuilty just earmarked 200 million for there pensions. Not so good for the rest of us that have to pay for it.

Except for minimum wage paying 'big box store' jobs what else has the Economic Devleopment Officer of the town attached to success on his or her resume?  This town over the years has simply reinforced it's postioon as a 'bedroom' comunity to Ottawa and Kanata.

I think it is time to revisit who is sitting in that chair.  If all they can attract is a Home Depot, Rona and a Walmart it it's time for someone in power at Town Hall to belly up and conceded failure.

Let's get back to the brain-storming. What does Carleton Place offer potential manufacturers? Is there any cash or other support the town is waiting to step up to? What would be a natural fit, and why?

We are doing such things as manufacturing oak furniture. Why not exploit agriculture. I think of McDonald's Corners and their creation of Tempeh from local(I presume) soybeans for example. Ever looked at health store supplements? Mucho dinero. We could easily get farmers to grow many of those plants if we manufactured supplements ourselves so that we could pay the farmers. Hops for the local brewery for example.

Solar panels anyone???

Ok,I've kicked the ball. Someone else must have ideas too.

Darn it!  I had a reply which I spent a good bit of time on and I lost it!  I'll try again....

If its expanding opportunities in agriculture, I like it.  And that brings me back to a local dairy (100 mile diet and all that).  I think it would be great to have our own local source for milk products, eggs and cheese (so sorry Baldersons disappeared).  It seems to me that there are some farms in Cobden (?) that use methane capture from cow byproducts (lol) to run the farms.  But are there constraints from the government on high that says who can or cannot sell their milk and eggs (I'm thinking of the raw milk situation).  Would government bureaucracy make difficult what used to be simple.

What about greenhouse cultivation of heritage vegetables.  Seems to me that there are a number urban chefs who go out of their way to acquire such delicacies for their up-scale restaurants.  Not to mention what a boon that would be to our own local restauranteurs.  Shitake mushrooms anyone? 

Hmmm, local dairy provides energy to local greenhouse using methane capture technology.  Bring on the tourists.

We always hear about "green" jobs; but what exactly are green jobs?  Nobody seems to be able to define the term but we assume it has something to do with technology and it gets thrown around by politicians all over the place like a magic incantation.  Perhaps we have to reinvent our roots and take advantage of what we have around us. 

It's not glamorous.... that would be... inventing a successful video game franchise. 

I always thought that Carleton Place would be the ideal location for companies in knowledge industry to locate.  It certainly would cost less than Kanata, Nepean or Ottawa.  The town is so well self contained, and the technologies that remove geographical location, who wouldn't want to move in? 

There are challenges that would need to be considered.  Where would employees live?  If a company is looking to source from the pool of university grads, they would need a place to live.  The rental situation in Carleton Place is not so great if you're looking to relocate, and this in not the demographic that is going to buy a house. 

I guess that's where a professional economic development officer is handy.  They know about that stuff.  Let us pause now, for all the former BBAR guys to say quietly, "yeah, we thought so too"...I have consistently found the inclination to continue to treat Carleton Place as a commuter town frustrating.  Real growth will continue to be stunted with that mindset. 

I think the McSweeny report missed the part about the town needing more rentals, so how would the professional economic development officer know what CP needs.lol Your right Bug definitely a shortage.

I'll tell ya something else they should have recommended to the municipality is a communications expert.  It's not so easy to be current in any community these days.  Media is in a flux.

What is sad here, is that the seven people on our council, will travel to Toronto to the Good Roads convention. They will travel to Whistler to do whatever it was they were doing there. They will travel to Comrie, and Franklin, with a pumpkin I might add. Although not very rewarding, nor scenic, we the taxpayers, will pay for your gas, accomodations and lodging, if need be, to travel to Ottawa, to solicit new business.  How many have actually solicited a business in Ottawa, with some kind of incentive to try and influence them to move their plant, or even one of their offices here? How many councillors do we have, that are actually capable of sitting down with a CAO or a CEO, and presenting something that would influence him enough to make a change in plans? One guy says he is smart enough but I beg to differ. I asked a couple of months ago on here, what the deputy mayors job was, when the mayor is so time constrained, that he feels now he cant accomplish anything. There was no response to that.

Maybe thats the whole problem here. With the town growing in leaps and bounds, maybe we need to have our councillors etc, to justify to us they require more people. That would be interesting Im sure. I, for one, would like to see the people who were elected, do what they are supposed to do. Forget county warden, forget sitting on various boards, forget being the EDO, just do the mayors job. Be only paid to do the mayors job. There are plenty of other people out there qualified to do the other positions. I have always wondered, how can someone sit on a board, when they may have a negative view of that board. Just because they are a mayor or a councillor, they pick, or get appointed to various boards. How can you sit on a board and relate favourably, to what they are undertaking, but yet you may have negative views of what that board does? Would it not be better to appoint individuals to boards outside of council.     

Actually burled, I think you are a councillor. You only bring diatribe here that you find on the internet, and come up with brilliant ideas that someone has posted 3 days earlier. You should be one if you arent. 

Aren't there at least 75 little "Carleton Place type towns all over Ontario looking for the same thing?......ie good manufacturing jobs. Many of them much closer to the marketplace than we are? Why would anyone pick Carleton Place over one of them? Most of these little towns have rivers, and a quaint downtown, and access to services as well as access to services in a larger nearby centre. Isn't the question, what is Carleton Place doing to try to rise above the rest & be a location of choice.....answer....not much Other than give up tax revenue...what can they do...and giving up tax revenue is a slipper slope

Get over it, whatever it is, Paulitical.

You're right Hydro Guy. It would take ideas and planning. We do have a lovely river, but I'm not sure where or how you'd tap into it. We are conveniently close to Ottawa and probably the right critical size to be attractive. What would happen if someone came forward with an idea and a plan and required the town to step up to required housing and services. Again, just thinking aloud, I wonder if the town's doors would be open.

Burrowed is thinking. I can smell the wood burning. Just the facts.