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My View 9 | Friday, November 21, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Halton Region's Economic Development Plan is right on the money Gary Carr Halton Region Chair A ccording to Halton's most recent economic update, the region's unemployment rate in the second quarter of this year (April-June) was four per cent -- significantly below the region's five year average unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent. That's great news and an indication that Halton Region's 10-year Economic Development Strategy is right on track. The number of Halton residents participating in the labour market was 74.5 per cent, edging up from 74.4 per cent in the previous quarter and higher than the 70.5 per cent during the same quarter in 2013. On Nov. 16, 2011, Regional council approved a new 10-year Halton Region Economic Development Strategy, followed by an implementation plan on Dec. 14, 2011. These documents guide Halton Region Economic Development -- in partnership with our local municipal partners in Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville -- in the fulfilment of the Region's vision for economic development by 2021. While we are less than halfway through the life of the strategy, I am pleased to report we are well on our way to achieving our vision that by 2021, Halton will be a preferred location for innovative businesses and entrepreneurs who need highly-skilled talent, quality infrastructure and a positive business environment in order to contribute to sustainable regional economic prosperity. Profit Magazine's 2014 Profit 500 ranking of Canada's fastest growing companies includes 15 Halton companies, including Oakville-based Dynamic Connections Inc., ranked at 88. Building permit value in Halton rose 40 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2013. This was a result of a resurgence in industrial investment activity (78 per cent increase). Halton's commercial retail and office permit value also rose 11 per cent from the same time last year. Industrial construction activity in Oakville included work on a new warehouse for RJ Multi Litho Inc. ($1.2 million). Commercial office construction included a multi-storey medical office building near the new Oakville hospital ($12.4 million), interior alterations for an office building at Great Lakes Business Park ($3.5 million). The new MINI car dealership ($5.5 million) was another significant development. Over the past year, Halton Region's Economic Development team has implemented new website content to support business investment location decisions, a target sector prioritization project to guide proactive investment attraction efforts and an online campaign promoting Halton as one of the best places to do business in Canada to domestic and international investment influencers. Halton's small business centre launched a new young entrepreneur program Starter Company this past April, providing youths aged 18-29 with training, business skills de- velopment, mentoring from local business leaders and grant capital to help start, grow or buy a small business. And the Region's Tourism team released tourism and cycling maps. Halton Region's Economic Development team is working hard to ensure Halton remains a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. The team will provide a complete report on its progress in achieving the Strategic Implementation Plan early in 2015. I am confident our progress is right on schedule. As always, if you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at gary.carr@ halton.ca. You can also find me on Twitter @ garycarrhalton, LinkedIn or Facebook. Every quote comes with a handshake. Real local people. Real local service. With State Farm® every policy comes with your own personal agent. We pride ourselves on being part of the local community so we can truly understand and best serve the needs of our customers. Get to a better State.® Get State Farm.® CONTACT A STATE FARM AGENT TODAY. legal matters CORPORATE LAW Q a David J.S. Shivak Thinking of Taking on a Business Partner? Darryl R Demille Ins Agcy Ltd Darryl Demille CFP 905-842-1020 www.darryldemille.ca Andrew J Heideman 905-829-0018 www.andrewheideman.ca Angelo Gualtieri 905-257-7773 www.angelogualtieri.com There are many benefits to having a business partner whether as partners of a partnership or as shareholders of a small business corporation. The benefits include, among others, having a partner who possesses complementary skills which are necessary for operating the business, obtaining much needed capital to finance the business, and leveraging the relationships and connections of your partner to further the interests of the business. Unfortunately, many new business start-ups fail within the first five years. In my law practice, I often hear from clients after it's too late, that is, after the relationship has deteriorated to the point where the partners are looking to go their separate ways. In many cases, it's not that the business was unprofitable or had no potential, but rather the partnership failed due to differences in expectations. Here are a few tips which may help you when taking on a business partner: · Be sure to clearly define each partner's roles and responsibilities. · Be sure to understand each other's expectations ­ it is important to have a shared vision of how the business will grow, what the long-term goals will be, and to understand how much time and attention is expected of each partner. · Be sure to put it in writing - A comprehensive partnership agreement (or shareholders agreement if you are incorporated) should not only detail roles and responsibilities, but address how future capital will be raised, how decisions will be made and what happens if there is a difference of opinion, what happens when a partner wishes to leave or is forced to withdraw, and how new partners will be admitted, among other provisions. Lawyers in your corner: David is a Partner at Ross & McBride LLP, practicing in the Business Law Group. His practice focusses on all aspects of corporate and commercial law; including business start-up and incorporation, financing and secured transaction, tax reorganization, purchase and sale of businesses, corporate governance and shareholder agreements. He has developed a particular expertise in commercial leasing and licensing in which he has acted on behalf of landlords, tenants, developers, property managers, municipalities and lenders. 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