- by Waleed Aslam

In recent days the City of Owen Sound's latest promotional campaign billing Owen Sound as the Work from Home Capital of Canada has garnered a lot of attention locally and from our big city neighbours in the south. Here's my humble take on that endeavour.

I would like to begin by thanking the City of Owen Sound for featuring me on this campaign. Not very long ago, a man of South Asian descent being front and centre of such a campaign would have been a tough image to conceive. I believe we should all take a moment to recognize all that we have done and continue to do to embrace and promote diversity and new ideas within our amazing community.

Now to the second part of my message. I have seen mixed responses to this campaign within our community. Some have billed it as a cheeky fun way to attract people to Owen Sound whereas others would prefer the focus to be on the very real issues that exist on the ground in our community. As someone who works with those most in need in our community on a daily basis, here's my take:

Investment is important so long as we don't turn away from issues in our community that are pressing - Issues such as a shortage of affordable housing, homelessness, rising costs of living, unemployment etc. The trickiest part of growing any community is the ultimate question: How do we focus on growing our community while ensuring that this growth doesn't leave anyone disenfranchised.

I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. None of us in this amazing community are anti-investment and anti-growth; we are however cognizant of the very valid concerns that exist within our community. So, as we attract and retain through well-intended campaigns such as the one above, let us also remember that we have a duty to our constituents, especially those that need our help the most. The two need to go hand in hand.

This has been my approach from day one and shall be my approach as I navigate the future.

It's been amazing to see ideas on how to strike this balance, open dialogue is key to building a community that works for all.
Thank you again my friends for being such wonderful, accepting and passionate people.

I am so very proud of our community!