Mayor speaks of time of transition and opportunity for Caledon at Fall Business Breakfast

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Caledon community was talking business on Wednesday morning.

On October 11, Caledon Mayor Annette Groves hosted a Fall Business Breakfast event at the Royal Ambassador Event Centre in Caledon East.

Ontario's Minister of Transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria, was a special guest speaker at the event.

Groves said small businesses are the backbone of Caledon's economy.

“Small businesses make up 98 per cent of our employment base and are critical to the success of the Town's economy,” said Groves. “When small businesses succeed, Caledon thrives.”

This year to date, Groves said she has attended the opening ceremonies of 11 small businesses in Caledon.

Groves thanked the business community for participating in Caledon's annual business survey. She said it gives the Town important information about the needs of local businesses, and what they'd like to see prioritized.

The Mayor said Caledon is working on expanding its transit service, something that will help businesses. She explained the Town's strategic plan has staff working towards a Town-wide transit strategy, and said in 2024 transit will expand further. 

Groves said she's committed to growing business in Caledon as the Town works through the dissolution of the Region of Peel. She said it's a time of transition and opportunity for Caledon.

“What will not change is our commitment to supporting the growth of our local economy,” said Groves. “We will be working to keep our businesses informed as we move forward.”

One of the ways Groves said Caledon is helping businesses is through Community Improvement Plans and community revitalization efforts. 

She said since the adoption of Caledon's first Community Improvement Plan, 40 applications for property improvement have been approved. The Town has disbursed $650,000 in grant funding to these business owners.

Groves also mentioned the upcoming grand opening of the Humber River Centre in Bolton. This Centre will play host to meeting space for small businesses, and a home for the Caledon Chamber of Commerce. 

“This innovative community hub will provide businesses with access to the local network of support services,” said Groves.

The Mayor thanked Caledon business owners for their passion, hard work, and for choosing to do business in Caledon. 

“We will continue to move forward and support our local economy,” said Groves. “Please stay connected as we grow together as a community.”

Sarkaria, who now lives in and represents the riding of Brampton South, shared that he was born in Orangeville and raised in Caledon.

“I spent the first 22 years of my life in Caledon… it holds a special place in my heart,” said Sarkaria. “Caledon is an amazing Town, I love the people, the culture… I always felt like it was like a family. Everyone knows everyone, everyone likes to work together.”

Sarkaria said the Caledon Chamber of Commerce, like other chambers, is an important community leader. He said it was great to see the Town and Chamber work together to put on the business breakfast.

Sarkaria said the Province is investing nearly $70 billion in public transit across Ontario over the next 10 years. He called the proposed Highway 413, alongside other provincial projects like LRT lines, critical. 

“In a Town like Caledon that is growing exponentially… [we need to] make those investments… as the population grows (so) we have the right service levels,” he said.

Sarkaria said there's a lot of opportunity in Caledon and it will be an important part of the Province's GO rail network. He said the Province is committed to working with Caledon to make sure it's part of the conversation around GO transit. 

Groves said transit is top of mind in Caledon because a lot of local roads are quite congested.

“We're looking forward to having that transit service sooner than later,” said Groves.