Resist the urge to doubt and criticize

Last month, I wrote a column in which I argued that the City of Brandon’s slogan should be changed to the Latin translation of “that will never work,” based on the “can’t do” mentality that seems to have taken root in the city over the past three decades.

At the end of that column, I said that it is time to choose our future. I asked “Are we willing to work together toward a better Brandon, or is this another one of those “quod numquam proderit” situations?”

Following the column’s publication, I heard from several readers who said they agreed with my assessment. I also read a number of media reports, however, that suggested that there is still reason for hope — that there are many among us who are working toward building a better Brandon.

For example, there was a report on Sept. 28 regarding TD Bank volunteers planting almost 300 trees at the City of Brandon’s Outdoor Field Sport Complex, as part of the bank’s Tree Days initiative. There was also the fact that seven Brandonites were willing to invest their time and energy to seek election to the Brandon School Division board of trustees in this week’s byelection.

Those are just two examples. A third is Thursday’s announcement that the Grow Brandon initiative will receive a total of $575,000 in taxpayer funds over the next three years from the three levels of government in order to assist economic development in the city.

Of that total, $300,000 will come from the federal government through the Prairies Economic Development Canada agency, while $150,000 will come from the Manitoba government. The remaining $125,000 will be contributed by the city.

According to media reports, the money will be used “to bring together representatives from all levels of government, academic institutions, Indigenous organizations and the private sector to establish annual economic summits to showcase the Brandon area as a business destination of choice and develop sector-specific initiatives to attract new investments to the region.”

That is obviously an important objective because it aims at ensuring the city is able to offer the quality of life that both attracts newcomers and encourages our best and brightest to remain in the city.

That said, there are a few concerns surrounding the funding announcement that should be addressed, beginning with the fact that most Brandonites have never heard of Grow Brandon, don’t know what its mandate is and don’t know who the people guiding it are.

That’s a fair concern, given that a Google search of “Grow Brandon” takes you to a web page on the Brandon Chamber of Commerce website that contains just these three sentences: “A stronger Westman economy requires the development of a comprehensive economic development strategy that engages stakeholders in the creation of a long-term, sustainable solution for the region following recent economic challenges and labour shortages.

“GROW Brandon is an acronym meant to create a picture of who we are and where we live; Great-hearted, Resourceful, Optimistic, Welcoming. Stay tuned for more updates on the work GROW Brandon is doing in our community!”

A report in Thursday’s Sun provided clearer details, saying that “Grow Brandon was created in 2023 to advance economic development. Its members are from the city and the chamber, Assiniboine College, Brandon University, provincial and federal governments, Indigenous organizations, Canadian Forces Base Shilo, the Business Council of Manitoba and Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.”

That is helpful, but it is unclear why the organization, which will now receive such a large amount of tax dollars for such an important public objective, would keep such a low public profile.

Next, it would also be helpful for Grow Brandon to explain how this initiative differs from past economic development efforts in the city, and how it will achieve positive results that those previous efforts failed to achieve.

It has been decades since Brandon attracted a large commercial investment from outside the area. In the meantime, the city is losing out to other Manitoba centres such as Steinbach, Selkirk and even Niverville. How will the Grow Brandon initiative reverse that trend?

Beyond that, how does Grow Brandon mesh with the existing economic development efforts of the city, province and federal government? A lot of tax dollars are already being invested on our economic growth. How does pouring even more tax dollars into Grow Brandon improve the city’s prospects?

Finally, what role, if any, does the public have in Grow Brandon? Thursday afternoon’s economic summit may have been open to the public, but it appears that few ordinary citizens were aware it was happening.

Despite those communications challenges — all of which are fixable — it would be very on-brand and self-sabotaging for Brandonites to criticize what appears to be a good-faith effort to improve the city’s economic future before that initiative has even gotten underway.

Let’s not give in to that urge. Instead, let’s give Grow Brandon a chance to try to succeed. If they can do that, it could be an important step toward this city and its citizens to believing in themselves and each other again.