Small Business Summit
Monday, October 18, 2021 | 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Delta Hotel, 350 St. Mary Ave.
No cost to attend; limited amount of tickets available
ABOUT EVENT:
Our small business community continue to prove their resilience through meeting countless challenges presented during this pandemic. But moving forward, how can our business community and City Hall work together to continue to drive small businesses forward?
During Small Business Week, on Monday, October 18, we’ll be hosting our annual Small Business Summit in partnership with the Mayor’s Office. Chamber Director of Advocacy, Colin Fast, will sit down with Mayor Brian Bowman and other City officials to talk about next steps for economic recovery and how together we can address challenges our downtown is facing.
Join us on October 18 for this free in-person Summit and don’t miss Mayor Bowman’s last Small Business Summit with the Chamber community.
Seats are limited. Breakfast included. Registration required.
Small Business Summit 2021
Host: Colin Fast, Director of Policy, The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce
Featured Guest: Mayor Brian Bowman
REGISTER NOW
Digital and/or physical COVID immunization card will be mandatory
at our event check-in for all Winnipeg Chamber in-person gatherings.
EVENT SPONSORS
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ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST:
Mayor Brian Bowman was first elected Mayor on October 22nd, 2014 becoming Winnipeg’s 43rd Mayor. He was re-elected Mayor on October 24th, 2018, increasing his plurality and capturing more than 53 percent of the votes cast.
Both of Mayor Bowman’s campaigns signaled a positive, forward thinking vision for building a city whose population is on track toward a million people, and a vision to unite the city’s many diverse communities and cultures.
During his first term, Mayor Bowman successfully worked to ensure Winnipeg became a key national voice on racism and inclusion, setting the city on a journey of reconciliation and adopting the city’s first Indigenous Accord. In his second term, he’s committed to making Winnipeg an international leader for human rights education, leadership, and promotion.
Since Mayor Bowman took office, the city’s population has grown from 698,000 to over 753,000. Brian has remained focused on building a city today for the needs of a population forecasted to grow steadily and strongly well into the future. He oversaw and supported the city’s adoption of its first city-wide Asset Management Plan, as well as improved public disclosure and oversight of major capital projects.
Mayor Bowman has been a committed supporter of Winnipeg’s business community including the city’s growing innovation and technology sectors. He has supported annual reductions to the city’s business tax, reduced administrative barriers for businesses, and has worked to build the city’s reputation and attract international businesses to Winnipeg such as Ubisoft, an international leader in software development.
Prior to taking office, Mayor Bowman was a business lawyer and a partner in a major Winnipeg law firm. Alongside his law practice, Brian held many leadership roles across a range of boards and community organizations.
Mayor Bowman and his wife Tracy are proud parents of two sons. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Adv) in history and political studies from the University of Manitoba and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto. He is the recipient of an honourary CPA.
Scott Gillingham was first elected to Winnipeg City Council in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. During his time on council, he has become widely respected by colleagues, department staff and stakeholders.
Scott has been given several important responsibilities including the chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, Council Liaison for Labour Relations and the Chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance.
In his first term, Scott was appointed Council Liaison for Labour Relations where he called for and worked to see the development of a labour relations bargaining strategy. The strategy sequences collective bargaining with respective bargaining units with an aim to ensuring labour costs are sustainable for taxpayers. Under the new strategy several collective agreements have been ratified that have achieved the lowest year-over-year general wage increases in 20 years.
Scott has also served as the Council Liaison – Veteran & Military Affairs, a position he helped create. This has been an important role for working with the Canadian Armed Forces on issues related to personnel, planning and reservists policies. It also recognizes the contribution made to the city by Forces members, veterans and their families. With17 Wing located right in his St. James ward, Scott feels a duty to serve the men and women who serve our nation.
Since moving to the role of Finance in November 2016, Scott has applied a long-term focus on the overall City finances. Most recently, he has provided leadership in the development of Winnipeg’s first multiyear balanced budget that was adopted in March 2020, with balanced operating budgets in each of the next 4 years.
Scott firmly believes that council owes it to the citizens of Winnipeg to establish a longer-term, balanced budget that focuses investment on services that are core to the City’s mandate and delivers certainty for residents.
In addition to chairing the Finance Committee, he currently serves as co-chair of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region Board and as the City of Winnipeg’s representative on the board of the North American Strategy of Competitiveness.
Scott’s collaborative, responsible approach has been the hallmark of his time on City Council.
Prior to serving on city council Scott served as pastor of Grace Community Church in Charleswood for twelve years. He and his wife Marla have been married for over 25 years and live in Silver Heights. Together, they have raised two adult children, daughter Hannah and son Andrew.
Cindy Gilroy, City Councillor for Daniel McIntyre
I am proud to have been born and raised in the West End. I love everything about our great community. After high school I worked at our family business, Home Securities Insurance Services on Westminster Avenue in Wolseley. Working as an insurance broker in the family business showed me first-hand the hard work and dedication of small business owners in our community.
Eventually my love of learning lead me to the U of W. One of the most important things I learned at university, where I studied Political Science, was that if you want a better future you have to create it yourself. This is an important life lesson I wanted to teach my two daughters. With daughters in the school system, I felt a strong need to be engaged in not only their education but engaged in the education system for all students in the Winnipeg School Division.
This is what motivated me to become a School Trustee. As a Trustee, I worked with community development organizations such as the Spence Neighbourhood Association and the Central Neighbourhoods Development Corporation. I was also on the board of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg. It’s always been important for me to give support to people who need it within our community. I’ve met many great people over the years who are facing issues like poverty or living with a disability. I was on the Social Planning Council to make sure these residents have a voice and are heard.
350 St. Mary Ave.
Winnipeg, MB
