On Thursday, January 24th at the London Convention Centre, Mayor Ed Holder gave his first State of the City Address (SOTC). The London Chamber of Commerce’s SOTC is held annually and is a one-of-a-kind event to mark the beginning of the new year. It sets the tone for both the Mayor and Council as they set out to tackle important issues that face our municipality. It is a must-attend event for the London business community, drawing an audience of over 1,400 people.})
Here are some highlights from the 2019 SOTC. You can read the Mayor's full SOTC address on the City of London's website.
2018 accomplishments:
- London ranked as Canada's best amongst eight comparable cities in terms of fire station response time
- Fanshawe College opened it's Schools of Information Technology and Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts on Dundas Street. The College's three downtown locations now bring more than 2,500 students to our core each day
- Tourism was strong in 2018 as London hosted the Ontario Summer Games, the Continental Cup of Curling, the Canadian Tire Para Hockey World Challenge, and doezens of cultural events
- London's historic Blackfriars Bridge reopened in 2018, in addition to the opening of the Bostwick Community Centre. These projects are examples of London's planning, engineering, and construction talents coming together
- The Middlesex London Health Unit opened a temporary Consumption and Treatment Service that connected more than 200 drug users to addictions treatment. In addition, Lawson Health Research and Western University developed a new clinical protocol called STOP Narcotics which reduces the amount of pain medication prescribed after surgery by 50%. Lawson was ranked among Canada's best hospital research institutes in 2018
2019 priorities:
- Refocusing primary job efforts from more employers to more employed
- Better addressing the needs of our most vulnerable
- Accelerating the transportation decisions that will more reliably get Londoners to their work and schools on time
- Working together to keep our City safe
- Streamlining our City's construction permit and approvals processes
London Jobs Now
As part of the Mayor's first priority, The City of London, joined by the London Economic Development Corporation, London's Chamber of Commerce, the London Region Manufacturing Council, London Social Services, Fanshawe College, Western, and the first private-sector firm Nestle Canada have formed a Task Force called "London Jobs Now" to more effectively connect London job seekers to London employers.
Send an email to jobs@london.ca to learn about how you can get involved.
