From www.theobserver.ca The Observer
Though Michigan communities can sometimes be competitors for industries Sarnia-Lambton is trying to attract, there’s still room for cross-border collaboration and partnerships.
That’s according to George Mallay, general manager with the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, which has signed on as a co-sponsor of the upcoming Bi-National Blue Water Regional Collaboration Conference, Oct. 2 at Port Huron’s Double Tree by Hilton.
Mallay is scheduled to moderate a morning session and speak at the closing of the cross-border regional economic conference.
Michigan is Canada and Ontario’s largest trading partner, Mallay said.
“There is value in having a sit-down and trying to get a better understanding where both sides are going,” he said.
The conference, organized by government agencies, universities and other organizations on both sides of the border, will look at issues impacting trade, transportation, investment, and job creation in the Blue Water regions of Ontario and Michigan.
Mallay will moderate a Green Chemistry Innovations session with a panel scheduled to include Murray McLaughlin with the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance, based at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.
Attracting bio-based chemical companies has been a focus for the economic partnership in recent years.
One example of how collaboration can be beneficial, Mallay said, is having farms on both sides of the border as sources for agricultural products bio-chemical companies use.
“If we can get more of a cluster going on both sides, around agriculture and around green chemistry, I think that benefits us more as a region,” he said.
The moving of goods and people through the border is another area where there’s room for cooperation, he said.
“There’s a lot of two-way trade between Ontario companies and Michigan companies,” he said. “So, it is important to also eliminate barriers to trade.”
Roy Norton, Canada’s consul general in Detroit, will be one of conference’s keynote speakers.
Information about the conference is available online at www.slep.wpengine.com.
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