The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has extended invitations to all 11 municipal mayors in Lambton County and the chiefs of all three local First Nations to speak at a ticketed March 9 event about business initiatives underway in their communities.
Chamber members, including those in places other than Sarnia, had been asking for more information about what’s happening throughout Lambton County, chamber CEO Carrie McEachran said.
“So what a great opportunity to bring all the local leaders together and update everyone in the same room as to what’s happening within their communities,” she said.
“I know we’re quite excited about it, and the feedback we’re getting from the leaders we’ve heard from thus far and from the community has been positive.”
Tickets are $25 for chamber members and $35 for non-members for the inaugural State of Sarnia Lambton Business Breakfast at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s Maawn Doosh Gumig Community and Youth Centre, she said.
“When we recently toured it with some representatives from Aamjiwnaang, we just thought it would just be a perfect space to have something like this,” McEachran said.
Mayors from Plympton-Wyoming, Petrolia and St. Clair Township had confirmed as of Friday, she said.
“We’re really hoping to get as many of the local leaders out as possible,” she said.
McEachran added she’s unaware of any similar events previously where the leaders of all Lambton communities could be in attendance.
Details and tickets for the 9 am to 11 am breakfast are available at slchamber.ca. There’s space for 55 attendees at the event.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who hosts annual state of the city addresses with local service clubs, said he hasn’t decided yet if he’ll attend.
“I’ll do my best. I just don’t know at this point,” he said.
“I welcome any opportunity to communicate with the public and for others to communicate with the public on what’s happening,” the Sarnia mayor added.
He spoke years ago at chamber-hosted state-of-the city breakfasts held in Sarnia that included only representatives from Sarnia and Lambton County, he said, noting sometimes those grew unwieldy and long.
Each speaker at the planned chamber event has 10 minutes, the chamber event-notification says.
“That’s a pretty long format,” Bradley said.
Elected officials weren’t contacted about the idea in advance, McEachran said.
“It was an invitation from the chamber on behalf of our members.”
Though 11 of 17 Lambton County councilors is more than enough of the majority needed for a meeting quorum, the Municipal Act says meetings also require members to “discuss or otherwise deal with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council, local board or committee.”
Despite this quirk of legislation, This chamber breakfast is probably OK as long as no decisions are made, Bradley said.