“At the county level, from an economic development perspective, we want to be able to enhance and complement the entire county,” Sian stresses. To ensure that community voices guide decisions, the county collaborates with the Dufferin Board of Trade, the Dufferin Federation of Agriculture, and local economic development committees. “Sitting in a glass ivory tower at the county offices doesn’t really give me a good perspective of what’s going on,” Sian remarks. “I need to have boots on the ground. I need to go visit these businesses, and I need to understand. From a commercial perspective, our main streets are our drivers, but we do have a lot of mom and pop shops, and those are prominent commercial providers within our local economy as well.” A CARING COMMUNITY For Warden Horner, the word that captures Dufferin County’s character the best is ‘Caring,’ a characteristic that is exemplified through the development of a Health and Human Services Hub.“This is an initiative that we feel will embody that caring community and put it into action,” she says. “We’re going to be putting our paramedic services, all the county health and human services, the Alzheimer’s and Diabetic societies, all kinds of different folks that are serving the needs of Dufferin County residents all under one roof.” 67 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11 DUFFERIN COUNTY, ON
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