‘What we do and how we do it matters’: Richmond Hill mayor addresses accountability, innovation, and community

'The great news is we know we’re on the right path,' Mayor Dave Barrow said at board of trade luncheon Oct. 11

Yorkregion.com
October 17, 2019
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow updated on community building, business development, innovation, and accountability at the board of trade luncheon.

A record number of people -- more than 200 -- attended the annual event on Oct. 11 at the Richmond Hill Country Club, including local business representatives, city executives, city council members, as well as candidates who are running in the federal election.

While it was the 13th time that Barrow spoke at the mayor’s lunch, it was the four-term mayor's first “State of Richmond Hill” address since the town became a city in March.

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The mayor began his speech with emphasis on the importance of community building in the planning for the future of the emerging urban centre.

“Because community is everything. It’s why people and businesses continue to choose Richmond Hill,” Barrow said. “The great news is we know we’re on the right path.”

The mayor cited the city’s community survey earlier this year that found 92 per cent of residents satisfied with Richmond Hill as a place to live.

Meanwhile, Barrow highlighted a number of development projects including the proposed Yonge subway extension and the being developed for the intensification area located around the intersection of Yonge Street and Highway 7.

The mayor brought up “four exciting new initiatives” in partnership that the city has implemented, including Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), a partnership with VentureLAB, York Region’s innovation centre, partnership with York University for economy-related projects, and an artificial intelligence pilot project with local business Visual Defence.

Barrow also took the opportunity to congratulate HiBar Systems, local high-speed battery designer and manufacturer, on the acquisition by Tesla, Inc., American electric-automobile manufacturer.

The mayor noted the world-renowned automaker had plans to expand in Richmond Hill following the purchase.

“I’m consistently impressed and amazed with how Richmond Hill companies are transforming industries with state-of-the-art technologies and processes,” Barrow said after showing a video of highlights from an international tech conference in Toronto.

Richmond Hill, along with York Region, Markham and Vaughan, hosted the Collision Conference which attracted over 25,000 people from 120 countries.

After congratulating on the winners of Innovators of the Year Award, Barrow devoted the last part of his speech to accountability as he said he wanted to end the event on a “more serious note.”

“What we do and how we do it matters,” the mayor said, twice.

From fiscal responsibilities to climate change efforts, Barrow talked about the efforts the city has made in the past few years and promised to keep up.

“We are committed to continuous improvement internally and have put a strong focus on strengthening our work culture so we can deliver the best results,” he said.