Honoured and excited to serve on #Guelph Mayor @CamGuthrie& #39;s task-force on economic recovery alongside many community and business leaders.

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https://guelph.ca/2020/04/mayors-task-force-on-economic-recovery-assesses-impact-on-guelph-businesses-from-covid-19/">https://guelph.ca/2020/04/m...

Our task is simple to state but challenging to realize - support local businesses as they weather the storm and look to rebound

To do this, the task force will identify common challenges, emerging concerns & opportunities before shifting focus towards developing strategies.

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As some of you already know, my PhD research focuses on the role of municipalities in reducing community-wide energy use and costs.

I also work full-time supporting large and leading cities across Canada as they develop and implement local clean energy strategies.

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Though my research and practice, I& #39;ve learned https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Red circle" aria-label="Emoji: Red circle">municipalities can& #39;t (and likely won& #39;t) do everything, but
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🟢" title="Green circle" aria-label="Emoji: Green circle"> municipal leadership can play a crucial and important role in unlocking community& #39;s capacity for transformation.

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Broadly, municipalities can
a) lead by example
b) advocate to other orders of government
c) Catalyze/facilitate local partnerships, collaborations, (re)investments and financing
d) Change regulations (within provincial guidelines)
e) Provide direct services

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Obviously, I am excited about serving my community. More so, I am keen on drawing insights from my own research to help inform the work of the task-force.

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In the coming weeks and months, I will look to what other cities across Canada are doing and use this framework to pull together a & #39;basket of ideas& #39;, and work with the task-force to promote solutions that will meet Guelph’s unique and diverse economic needs.

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