December 07, 2011

Region will get a boost when U.S. recovers

By NICK LYPACZEWSKI TIMES-JOURNAL

Elgin-Middlesex-London Tory MP Joe Preston says he vehemently disagrees with a suggestion that the area has become a "have-not region".

"I tend to always think that the glass is half-full," he told the Times-Journal from Ottawa Tuesday.

"Things are always better around the corner and I think that there's got to be some level of being positive, making it positive....

"It's pretty easy to sit in your armchair and be negative."

With news coming last week that area unemployment hit 9.8% in Novembe -- up from 9.2% two months ago -- London-St. Thomas has the second highest unemployment after Windsor among Canada's largest cities.

While Preston said there's no magic cure for creating jobs, he emphasized collaboration and strong investment incentives are the key and that the region is already home to both elements.

"There's no magic pixie-dust government can throw. The answer is clearly that if we're all working together, knocking down the barriers for businesses to come and create jobs in our region then we're winning....You create the environment that they (businesses) want to come visit in -- as I said -- a low-tax environment with great land and buildings available. We have all of that," he said.

He said U.S recovery will eventually boost the local economy and St. Thomas in particular.

"When we live in St. Thomas and about 80% of everything we make in St. Thomas is sold to the United States, if they start to recover, we recover more rapidly," he adds.

Preston said he disagreed with NDP MP Irene Mathyssen of nearby London-Fanshawe who was quoted last week in a QMI Agency report saying federal Conservatives are in denial about how bad the region's economic climate has become.

"I don't like to ever just compare myself to another politicians...(but) you've got to remind yourself Mrs. Mathyssen was in the Bob Rae government in Ontario. If she wants to call someone else blind to the economy, take a look at the results of what that government did to my province," he said.

The three-term MP said PM Stephen Harper has the Canadian economy on the top of his priorities and that its Job 1, Job 2 and Job 3 for the majority Conservative government.

The two MPs do, however, seem to share common ground on the idea that the area's economic climate may get worse before it gets better.

While Mathyssen says the job market will get worse through spring, Preston said improvements are entirely possible, although fragile and largely dependent on economic progress in Europe and the United States.

Asked about his thoughts on whether St. Thomas specifically should continue to market its traditional manufacturing expertise or diversify its capabilities, the Tory parliamentarian said both but predicted future jobs in the area will revolve around manufacturing and produce more diverse items.

"We happen to be in the manufacturing heartland and we will need to continue to replace those industries or help those industries recover. That's all we