Developers and businesses should receive clear requirements at the beginning of the process. They should not complete one step only to encounter new requirements or objections that could reasonably have been identified earlier. When legitimate barriers arise, City staff and applicants should work in good faith to find acceptable solutions - not build the barriers higher.

More efficient approvals do not mean lowering standards, overlooking legitimate concerns or automatically approving every proposal. They mean identifying issues early, coordinating City departments and helping responsible projects find a workable path forward.

As Mayor, I will work with Council and City administration to:

• Establish clear service standards and ensure applicants are treated professionally, consistently and in good faith.
• Use coordinated pre-application meetings for significant projects so planning, engineering, infrastructure, environmental and building requirements are identified early.
• Provide applicants with a clear written summary of requirements, potential barriers, responsibilities and next steps.
• Require new or substantially changed requirements arising later to be clearly explained and supported by legislation, policy, technical findings or new information.
• Bring the appropriate City departments together to resolve conflicting requirements rather than leaving applicants to navigate those conflicts themselves.
• Identify processes that duplicate work without improving safety, planning or public accountability.
• Publicly report application volumes, processing times and reasons for significant delays.

The Mayor cannot independently approve applications or direct professional staff to disregard legal or planning requirements. The Mayor can lead a change in expectations and culture. My expectation will be clear: City Hall must protect the public interest while working cooperatively with people prepared to invest in Sarnia.

We should be attracting investment, not losing it because of barriers we have the ability to fix. I will identify what is holding development back and take action on the issues within the City's control.

I will work with Council, City staff, landowners, utilities, industry and economic-development partners to:

• Identify priority industrial and commercial lands and assess their readiness for development.
• Document servicing, transportation, environmental, zoning, utility and market-access constraints.
• Rank the improvements needed to unlock the strongest investment opportunities.
• Align the City's capital plan with realistic opportunities for economic growth.
• Maintain current site information that can be provided quickly to prospective investors.
• Pursue developer contributions, partnerships and provincial and federal funding for necessary infrastructure.

I will not support speculative borrowing based on vague promises of future development. Significant municipal investments must be supported by a credible business case considering costs, infrastructure, job creation, assessment growth, environmental requirements, market demand and long-term maintenance.

I will bring together employers, organized labour, industry associations, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP), the Chamber of Commerce, Lambton County, Lambton College and workforce organizations to:

• Support small businesses, retailers, restaurants, service businesses and local entrepreneurs by improving City communication, reducing avoidable municipal barriers and strengthening the areas where they operate.
• Identify businesses considering expansion and determine what municipal decisions, services or infrastructure may affect their plans.
• Hold regular discussions with employers and labour about the opportunities and pressures facing key economic sectors.
• Seek workers' perspectives on decisions affecting local employment and industrial development.
• Address recurring concerns involving approvals, infrastructure, workforce availability and municipal services.
• Strengthen connections among major employers, skilled trades, local suppliers and training organizations.
• Advocate together when provincial, federal or international decisions threaten local jobs, investment or major industries.
• Support responsible industrial growth that creates safe, stable and well-paying employment.

Employers and labour will not agree on every issue. Strong leadership means ensuring both are heard and building cooperation around shared interests: protecting local jobs, developing our workforce, improving environmental performance and keeping Sarnia competitive.

I will work with SLEP, industry, labour, Lambton College, Indigenous communities, regional partners and other levels of government to:

• Identify sectors in which Sarnia has a genuine competitive advantage.
• Develop targeted investment information for those sectors.
• Coordinate investment outreach around shared regional priorities.
• Advocate for infrastructure and government programs supporting industrial modernization, energy innovation and lower-emission production.
• Pursue opportunities that create durable employment, strengthen local supply chains and expand the municipal tax base.
• Measure economic-development activities against clear objectives and results.

Municipal government does not directly create private-sector jobs or choose which businesses will succeed. Its role is to make Sarnia competitive, remove avoidable municipal barriers and ensure the community is ready when opportunities arise.

I will bring together employers, labour, Lambton College, school boards, workforce organizations and economic-development partners to:

• Identify current and emerging skills shortages.
• Strengthen pathways from education and training into local employment.
• Promote skilled trades and local career opportunities to young people.
• Connect employers with existing workforce and recruitment programs.
• Improve coordination among workforce, housing and transportation planning.
• Promote Sarnia as a place where workers and their families can establish long-term roots.

The City should support and connect the organizations already doing this work, not duplicate their programs.

The City cannot afford to complete every project at once. It can establish priorities, develop realistic phases and stop allowing important plans to sit without clear direction.

I will work with Council, City leadership and community partners to:

• Confirm the economic and community purpose of each major strategic project.
• Identify the phases that provide the greatest public benefit and can be delivered responsibly.
• Require credible cost estimates, lifecycle costs and business cases before significant commitments are made.
• Pursue provincial, federal, private-sector and community partnerships before placing the full cost on local taxpayers.
• Establish clear milestones and report progress publicly.
• Make clear decisions when a project or phase is no longer financially or operationally viable.

The Waterfront Master Plan should be approached this way: confirm the plan's value, identify the highest-impact components, determine what can realistically be funded and delivered, establish a phased schedule and report publicly on progress.

• Will it produce a clear economic or community benefit?
• Is it an appropriate responsibility of the City?
• Have grants, partnerships, private contributions and other funding sources been fully explored?
• Can taxpayers afford both the initial cost and the long-term operating and maintenance costs?

Growing Sarnia's economy and assessment base is essential to maintaining infrastructure and services while managing pressure on taxpayers. Growth must be pursued thoughtfully, with clear priorities and financial discipline.

• Proposed service standards for development applications and permitting.
• A baseline report on current application and approval timelines.
• An assessment of priority industrial and commercial lands and the barriers preventing development.
• A structured schedule of discussions with employers, labour and key economic sectors.
• A review of the status, cost and next decisions required for major strategic projects.
• A public economic progress report identifying actions completed, barriers encountered and results achieved.

• A clearer, more accountable development and permitting process.
• More industrial and commercial land ready and actively marketed for investment.
• Stronger working relationships among City Hall, employers, labour and economic-development partners.
• Existing businesses receiving better municipal support when they want to remain or expand in Sarnia.
• Strategic projects advancing through practical, affordable and transparent phases.
• Growth in private investment, local employment and commercial and industrial assessment.
• Public reporting that allows residents to judge whether the City's economic-development efforts are producing results.