The City of Sherbrooke is changing the way that it handles economic development through a large scale overhaul of its governance structure planned over the coming months, with impacts to be expected on para-municipal organizations with a focus on economic development like Sherbrooke Innopole, Destination Sherbrooke and Commerce Sherbrooke as well as the Espace Inc. business incubator, the Sherbrooke community economic development corporation (CDEC), and Pro-Gestion Estrie.
Marie-France Delage, Deputy General Manager for the city on matters of partnership and development, explained that the review is a mixed-control model that takes certain economic development powers currently outsourced to the six organizations and refocuses them within the municipal administration in the name of creating a clearer overall vision. “What is important in a governance model is consistency,” Delage said, sharing that this move comes as an effect of Bill 122: An Act mainly to recognize that municipalities are local governments and to increase their autonomy and powers, which was passed by the provincial government in 2017. The hope, she said, is that a more clearly defined municipal vision and direction will free up energy within organizations to commit more time to action while also ensuring that the actions that are taken will be more coherent in the long run. See full story in the Tuesday, Dec. 17 edition of The Record.
