City playing press agent

Economic development in Penticton has taken many forms over the years, changing tack as often as the city changed the manager in the portfolio – which comes with about as much job security as an NHL coaching gig.

There was a time when the focus was on wooing large companies to set up shop here, and there was a time when the focus was on wooing small companies to set up shop here.

One particularly memorable – and successful campaign – was aimed at landing WestJet here. There was also a failed attempt to convince Air Canada to offer service to Calgary, all the better to help with a parallel campaign to lure oilpatch workers to move their families here.

More recently, there have been attempts to market Penticton as the hub in a regional cycling precinct, and as the place to be for socalled virtual workers, who require little more than a computer with an internet connection to telecommute to their jobs elsewhere.

But with the installation of a new administration at city hall in January 2017, the city’s economic development focus shifted inwards.

Now it’s as much about helping existing businesses expand as it is about bringing new businesses to town – the idea being that a new job is a new job, regardless of whether the employer has been here for 10 days or 10 years.

In its zeal, though, the city has apparently given itself a new job: publicist for select local businesses.

Witness the press release issued by the city May 24 stating in the lede that Penticton “is giving rise to a growing number of food-related businesses that are taking a big bite out of the B.C. market.”

It goes on for nearly two full pages about eight businesses that are finalists for awards from Western Living and Business Examiner magazines.

Importance of the awards notwithstanding (they’re all open for self-nominations), since when is public relations for private businesses a function of City Hall?

There was a time when business owners who had good news to share cranked out a press release of their own or maybe placed an advertisement in the local media.

More troubling than the city’s overreach, however, was two online news outlets simply slapping bylines on the press release and passing it off as “news.”

Yes, we should celebrate the success of local businesses, but not on the taxpayer’s dime.