Once a successful manufacturing centre anchored by the Kodak plant, Mount Dennis has seen industry decline and thousands of jobs lost over time.
Two workshops called Making Green Work held this past weekend allowed residents and community leaders to discuss how their community can attract green jobs and industries to the vacant employment lands. "Our concern is to maintain employment in the community and to look at sustainable economic development," said Rick Ciccarelli, a resident who helped organize the workshops hosted by Blue Green Canada and Labour Education Centre. "We recognize the thing that's going to shape the new economy is the need to be more sustainable as a global society."That includes investing in renewable technology as well as public transit. For Ciccarelli, it also means partnering up with higher education institutions to create an onsite learning centre. One strategy explored at the workshop was to advocate bringing a post-secondary campus into the community that could take advantage of the Eglinton LRT being built."Trying to get more stable employment in Toronto is necessary," Ciccarelli added. Keith Brooks, project manager with Blue Green Canada, said green jobs in particular are preferred as they pay more than other jobs, such as those in retail.Bringing in more middle-class jobs would be especially beneficial to the Mount Dennis community, which has the second lowest median income of any federal riding in Ontario based on 2006 census statistics."A green facility fits better with the residential area," added Brooks, noting the green economy could also provide jobs for a long time. "It's got a long future ahead of it, too. We're only at the beginning of this. It's a new industry."Further meetings are expected to be held in the coming months to receive further feedback and suggestions from residents."We heard some really good stuff," Brooks said.For more information on Blue Green Canada, visit www.bluegreencanada.ca