Collingwood was recently selected as one of the top 20 places to live in Canada based on an analysis performed by the staff of Relocate-Canada.com . In selecting the places chosen, Relocate Canada's staff used the following as part of their selection criteria.
1. Is the community represented on the Relocate Canada website?
2. Are local residents getting involved with input and town support?
3. Does the information submitted make us want to live there?
Item #1 is a little biased perhaps although I am not sure what constitutes getting your city or town listed on the Relocate Canada website. Item #2 is interesting and certainly very timely. It's hard not to notice Collingwood's residents involvement in town input and support. The recent upheavel over Collingwood Ethanol and the arrival of the Calgary based Progressive Group for Independent Business (PGIB) are good or perhaps bad examples of community involvement depending on your viewpoint. Lastly, those of us that currently reside here are very conscious of the many reasons why we want to be here so it's not hard to imagine the staff of Relocate Canada after reviewing all the information on the area not wanting to live hear as well.
The Enterprise-Bulletin covered this award in their September 19th edition and prior to doing so contacted me for my opinion as President of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board. Collingwood residents should feel proud that our town has received this recognition. The criteria used is no doubt multi-faceted but it goes without saying that the Collingwood area offers a quality of lifestyle second to none. This is all the more reason why all area municipalities must work diligently and cohesively to preserve what we have. This will not be accomplished by stopping the pending growth we are expecting but by managing it responsibly. Hopefully the Collingwood Ethanol situation will be resolved in such a manner as to alleviate the noise and odour problems that have plagued the plant and surrounding neighbours for months as well as allowing the facility to continue operating, maintaining the employment level that it generates. Perhaps a more significant issue pertaining to the plant's ongoing viability is the likelihood of ethanol enhanced gasolines becoming the fuel choice of the future. More on this in my next posting.
No comments:
Post a Comment