Ok… council is going on their mandatory break. Though, keep in mind I've fallen behind real time. They're probably already done now but I've been typing at top speed here for a while so I'm going to have a coffee & live stream it. Link coming in a sec. #yqrcc

Turnbull: How do you convince businesses to come to Regina vs the RM?
Bailey: If it's a head office, those never go to the RM. It could be connecting to realtors. Industrial is a big piece. But outside of them, we don't work w/ anyone not locating w/in Regina. #yqrcc

The "it's my first day" defence. #yqrcc

Bailey: We have worked w/ Globe in the past. So some of the data you're seeing here is created or curated by EDR but we're not taking credit for th work of others. #yqrcc

Bailey: Those were before my time so I can't speak to why those weren't addressed. But I can say that focused working city admin on an economic development lens to parse usable data. Our goal would for that not to be the case going forward. #yqrcc

Turnbull: There have been significant projects that came to council that effect the economy of Regina like the Globe or REAL deal, and I wonder why EDR wasn't advising council on these projects that were in Regina? #yqrcc

Turnbull: Do you consider the infrastructure cost to Regina from these projects that come in around the city?
Bailey: Yes we do. But ultimately, it's not a key guide to filter. #yqrcc

Turnbull: Do other communities in the region fund you at all, like the RM?
Bailey: We're having conversations with a number of them to come online in the near future, but at present they do not. #yqrcc

Turnbull: Thanks to EDR, you have taken a lot of the feedback from council to heart. #yqrcc

My fingers are rebelling from typing these words out. #yqrcc

Bailey: We want to be proactive, we think we're half a step behind, but we want to better target areas and gaps. #yqrcc

Bezo: What are you doing to attrract people into Regina?
Bailey: That's talent attraction, that's ad-based work. But we don't want to be firing blind. We want to connect to what people need. #yqrcc

Bailey: We don't do skill training. We try to make sure we have connections and funds so those labour-necessary pieces are connected. #yqrcc

Bailey: For galvanized steel, say, there are firms that make it but we hear there is a challenge in the workforce. So working through & going is there an opportunity to go to a skills trainer & get the two in the room to connect & see if there are other ways to get this work funded. #yqrcc

Bailey: The second piece is working w/ businesses in the supply or value chain to address their challenges. #yqrcc

Bezo is probing EDR for specifics. Wants to know what connecting to labour force means…
Bailey: There is the talent attraction piece, making sure folks are aware that this is a space where lots of good work is happening & bringing folks in from away. #yqrcc

So, EDR is effectively a transfer of taxpayer money to private industry? #yqrcc

Bailey: When I say rocks in the road, that can mean everything from how do we support organizations set up right tax considerations, where do we connect folks for talent-ready labour, right through to feasibility work or support with grant work to find additional revenue. #yqrcc

Bailey: This has potential to really scale as we continue to support the work they do & we continue to take rocks out of the road for them as they push forward & grow their enterprise. #yqrcc