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12 Mayor-elect lustin Altmann's lune Youmbe video claimed 400 trucks a day will come down Main Street to the trade centre. “I don't know where that's com- ing fmm." Chan said this week dur- ing an interview held at the trade centre's sales office on Hwy. 7. Management Ltd. and (bmbridge. The only vehicles that go in and out of it will be those driven by staff and buyers. But just how many vehicles could potentially make or break the proj- ect, according to McNeely. Among the numerous studies Conebridge executives have yet to provide the town is one on trafiic impact. which will assess everything from vehicle type, volume. move- ments per hour. duration and busi- ness operation. The plan is to have the trade cen- tre open next September, accord- ing to Chan. However, the town has yet to receive a number of techni- cal studies and drawings they have requested and that are required. Just because the project con- forms to mning byiaws. "it doesn't mean it's right for the pmpeny." McNeer said. Once all necessary reports from Corebridge have been received. public consultation will take place. Only once those are complete. will town staff submit a nepon to council with its recommendations. McNeer The trade Centre is a glorified office building. according to Chan. It will be open 9 am. to 5 pm. Monday to Friday. The municipality does not impose deadlines for these reports. he added. Along with $1 million in taxes from the facility, Chan has always said there will be local spin-oi? bene- fits for cun'enr retailers and the pro]- ect will help draw other companies MP opposes trade centre, mayor-elect awaits meeting me pm 1. to the municipality. Among services to be required by businesses of the trade centre are logistics. l'l‘. e~commerce, warehous- ing, advertising. business consult- ing, financing, legal and accounting. he says. Paul (lakmdra. MP for Oak Ridg- es-Markham. disagrees. In a Nov. 2 Facebook post. the Stoufiville resident‘explained why he opposes the trade centre. In part he wrote: "(it) will nega- tively impact the town's ability to attract new businesses” The trade centre is not open to the general public. however. its plan includes a name-brand cafe. which will be accessible to everyone. A nail salon and spa is also confirmed. It. too. will be open to the public. Negotiations are still undenNay for a second restaurant that will be acces- sible to the general public. according to Chan. A nearby hotel may be in the works About a year ago. a delegation fmm (‘hina came to Whitchurcli- Stoul‘fville to assess its feasibility for the trade centre, which will serve as a North American satellite office. (than said. “It is not an attempt to bring wmething that did not already exist in the current market. albeit it will now be under one roof where inter- national buyers/netailers can have the convenience. access. time sav- ings and cost reduction that could potentially be pm‘xsed through to end users/purchasers." Chan told The Sun-Tribune via email. Why Stouffville and why the for- mer gable wine company's building? The project is part of economic pmgress. Wilson "flan. director of the trade centre told The Sun-'Iribune via an interpreter this week. He noted Yon: Region's growth in population -â€" it's more than 1.1 mil- lion - enables industries to set up shop here. lh the past 10 years. the preva» lence of big box stores has grown because they are able to find cheap- er supply chain sources, versus the mom and pop shops. Tran said through a translator. This trade centre. 'll‘an said . will also provide local retailers accexs to those same suppliers. "That's the reality of real estate development in general." Chan said. Instead of speaking publicly to clarify untruths or diffuse issues. they have chosen to focus on the project. 'lhe developers are aware of the uproar this project has caused with in the community. The executives were invited to Mayor Wayne iimmerson's hastily called press conference Oct. 22 but did not have time to attend. they told The Sun-Tribune this week. (Iurebridge's lack of communi- cation is what C(mncilIor-clect for Ward 4 Rick Upton has a hard time coping with. The trade centre is in his ward. "We're trying to do our best for the site." (than said. While on the campaign trail. information about the trade centre felt like a “secret club" and no one was clear regarding exactly what was going to be constructed in the westâ€"end. he told 'lhe Sun-'lribune this week. Once it was finally confirmed it would not be a Pacific Mall. he favoured it. I don't think it's a bad thing." he said. However. he doesn‘t The trade centre is not open to the general public, hmvever, part of its plan includes a name-brand cafe, which will be accessible to everyone. Once all of the studies are pro- vided to town staff and public meetings have been held and if his constituents do not favour the trade centre. Upton will vote according to their wishes. he said. Upton is also a director and the vice-chairperson()ftheWhitchurCh- Smufi‘ville (Ihamber of Commerce. think the location is the best. Speaking strictly from a cham- ber perspective. he said the proj- ect is good because of the spin~0fi impacts available to local busi- nesses. Altmann has never met with Cambridge executives but schedul- ing a meeting is in [he works. “(I want a) full debriefingon exactly what is going on." he told The SunJITibune this week. add- ing he would not comment further until then. Throughout his campaign for mayor, however. Altmann was very vocal against the trade centre moving into the vacated Snuthwirv building. He prefers it be construct- ed in (iormley. (lorebridge executives are aware of Altmann's You'llibe video and, via an interpreter. 'l‘ran said he understands everyone has a stratâ€" egy when it comes to election cam- paigns and he trusts people will come up with their own opinions. In his hos-minute long You'lube video from June. Altmann called the project an "all-Asian trade centre." It is not an “all-Asian tiade cenâ€" tre." according to hem and Chan. Roughly 40 per cent of the. more than 800 units are already sold ~ to North American companies. The number of vendors will be less than 800 as some have pur- chased multiple units. (Ialandra noted in his Face- book post he was approached with a request to facilitate the approval of hundreds of foreign workers "to open and operate the trade centre." He did not name who approached him. COURTESY (OREBRIDGE DEVElOPMENY CORP The interior and exterior plans for a trading centre at what was the Southwire plant on Main Street in Stouffvillc. Company executives requin' the ability to enter (Ianada a few times a year to check on their business. which will be run by locally hirvd ’employees. (Zhan said. It was not (Iorehridgt'. art‘urding t0(Ihan. "For clarity. we did not meet with Mr. Paul (ktlttndra nor did we make a request dimctly to him on thv mat- ter. Rather we had written it letter earlier to the'l‘own (ifWhitchttrt‘h- Stoufiville with regards to the poten- It is the understanding of (lore- bridge, from its purchasers, that a work permit offers important dif- ferences compared to a VISA. which grants entry into Canada. tin] of the project kind discussbd fac- tors that impact the project." (Ihun told 'lhe SunJIHbune via email. (Jalandm confirmed yesterday he was forwarded a letter by linmwr- The type of work permit for business owners, who are the ones requesting them. do not require a Labour Market impact Assessment because they are not competing with the Canadian labour force. (Ihun told 'lhe Sun-'l‘ribune Vii! email. it appears MP Paul Calandra’s Facebook post struck a chord with people One person wrote: “What a shame”. This will destroy what was a lovely town“ One person called it “disgusting” and added it was “time to move.” Another poster claimed the wholesale trade centre was originally gomg to be in Vaughan but it “was smart enough to turn this opportunity down.“ This trade centre. according to Corebndge executives. was never planned for Vaughan There is a project in the Hwy. 407 and Keele Street area called IMPROVE. but its focus is on home improvement materials only. it is not something Corebridge has ever been involved with. Chan said. FACEBODK NON-FANS