Economic Recovery Plan Supports Mississauga Creative Industries

Today, General Committee endorsed the third industry-specific plan designed to guide the City’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The Creative Industries Economic Recovery Plan outlines specific priorities and actions to mitigate, reboot and grow Mississauga’s film, television and music sectors in the wake of the pandemic.

“Our creative industries faced an unprecedented level of uncertainty when COVID-19 closed live music venues and halted film and television production. From the outset, we worked closely with these sectors to help them manage the initial impacts of the pandemic,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie.  “While there are still unknowns about the future, with this recovery plan, the City is well-positioned to strengthen and promote our world-class creative industries, which make such important contributions to the vibrancy and economic health of Mississauga.”

Five industry-specific plans – one for each of Mississauga’s major business sectors – were outlined in the City’s Economic Recovery Pillar Framework approved by Council earlier this year. The Creative Industries Economic Recovery Plan, led by the City’s Culture Division, was developed with continuous engagement from business owners and key industry leaders.  Three themes emerged and have become priorities for the plan:

1. Building Confidence: As the pandemic continues, re-establishing public support for creative sectors is a priority.
2. Removing Barriers: Reviewing and updating City policies and procedures that impede creative sectors from rebooting and growing in the wake of the pandemic.
3. Attracting Investment: Ensuring Mississauga remains competitive and attractive to film and music production is vital to our recovery efforts.

“While the impacts of COVID-19 have been severe, particularly for live music performers and venues, insights from our industry partners have also highlighted opportunities,” said Paul Damaso, Director, Culture Division. “These opportunities, such as providing access to sustainable funding opportunities, digital online resources and marketing support informed our plan and will help move creative industries in Mississauga towards sustained economic prosperity.”

In total, the Creative Industries Economic Recovery Plan identifies 16 unique action items to help the film, television and music sectors through economic recovery. Key initiatives include:

• Providing free business skills training, mentorship and grant opportunities to Mississauga music entrepreneurs through the Mississauga Business Enterprise Centre
• Creating musical pathways for youth
• Launching a project using input from industry stakeholders and benchmarking research to identify barriers to filming in Mississauga
• Increasing the number of Mississauga locations on the Ontario Creates Locations Library
• Investing efforts in continued studio expansion
• Developing a comprehensive strategy to support and grow Mississauga’s music sector

The plan also highlights three other important culture-related recovery projects currently underway. These include the Cultural Districts Implementation Plan, the City’s Grant Program and initiatives to support Mississauga’s visual artists.

The Creative Industries Economic Recovery Plan will go to Council next week for approval.

To stay informed about the City’s COVID-19 recovery efforts, visit Mississauga.ca/recovery.

Background

The need for five industry-specific plans tailored to small business, broader industry, tourism, creative industries and the land development/real estate industry was outlined in the City’s Economic Recovery Pillar Framework. As one of four pillars guiding the City’s overall recovery efforts, the framework sets out the principles for the development of each industry-specific economic recovery plan.

Consultation and engagement with stakeholders and the business community will continue to be an important part of the City’s recovery efforts. All five industry-specific plans will be reviewed and assessed on a regular basis in consultation with the Mississauga Economic Resilience Taskforce, an advisory group established in June 2020.

Tags

• COVID-19 Updates