The general definition of dissolution is the closing down or dismission of an assembly, partnership, or official body. As of December 31st, 2024, PKED will be closed.

The City of Peterborough and Peterborough County intend to change their economic development and tourism delivery models. The councils will consider reports on these models, and PKED eagerly awaits the opportunity to review and identify opportunities for service continuity.

Due to the impending dissolution, PKED employees have been given termination notices, and employment will end in line with PKED’s dissolution on December 31st, 2024. We hope the new models will include positions for our team of passionate and dedicated economic development professionals to continue serving the business community and attracting investment to the region.

The PKED Board of Directors is a group of community volunteers who represent key sectors of our economy. They will be responsible for dissolving the corporation in accordance with the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act. Once this work is complete, there will no longer be a Board of Directors for PKED. 

PKED will continue to deliver those services until December 31st, 2024. Decisions about future plans and delivery models for economic development and tourism services in the region rest solely with the City of Peterborough and Peterborough County for their respective municipalities. Inquiries can be directed to local municipal staff or elected officials.

City of Peterborough Council Contact Information

City of Peterborough Contact Us Page

Peterborough County Council Contact Information

Peterborough County Contact Us Page

PKED staff will continue to deliver services until the end of the Memorandum of Understanding between PKED, the City of Peterborough, and Peterborough County ends on December 31^st, 2024. Please visit our Meet the Team page to connect with a member of our team.

PKED has been working closely with the province to identify an alternative organization to take on the responsibilities of the Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) to ensure the continuation of important small business support programs and services. On June 24^th, Community Futures Peterborough announced it will begin delivery of programs and services provided by the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) previously operated by PKED. Businesses are encouraged to visit Community Futures Peterborough’s website for more information and learn about the upcoming intake of Starter Company Plus.

Read the media release

PKED’s Business Fundamentals, Social Media Navigator and Digital Marketing boot camps will be delivered throughout 2024. To keep up to date on the workshops delivered by PKED and partners, please visit www.investptbo.ca/events 

Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism (PKT) is operated by Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development and will close when PKED dissolves on December 31, 2024. PKT and the Visitor Centre (as well as virtual and remote visitor services) will continue to operate as normal until the end of year.

The purpose and scope of the work undertaken by PKED on behalf of the City of Peterborough and Peterborough County is guided by a tri-party Memorandum of Understanding, which dictates PKED’s governance structure, mandate, services, reporting, accountability, and financial requirements. This MOU has been reviewed and renewed every 4 years, and the CAOs of the City of Peterborough and Peterborough County held seats on PKED’s Board of Directors to ensure responsible oversight and delivery of PKED’s requirements as outlined in the MOU. PKED’s Business Plan and Budget are presented and approved by councils annually.

PKED has a 25+ year history of award-winning, nationally recognized programs and initiatives that have been consistently held up as best practices. It has an effective track record of obtaining additional funding from multiple levels of government as well as private partners to support additional programs, initiatives, campaigns, and projects to supplement the core funding provided by the City and the County. PKED has a strong track record of results based on the requirements of the MOU. Examples of this can be found in our 2023 Year in Review video and at www.investptbo.ca/reports.

Recent local reporting on PKED’s role related to physician recruitment has been inaccurate and misleading. The last time PKED was responsible for physician recruitment activities was in 2014. PKED did not have the responsibility for this work in 2022-2024 – joint councils created, approved and assigned this responsibility to the Peterborough Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee (PPRRC). The PPRRC included physicians, Peterborough Family Health Team representatives, City and County Councillors and CAOs. The PPRRC hired a consultant on contract who reported directly to the PPRRC to perform recruitment activities on their behalf. The PPRRC was intended to be a working committee and not a legal entity.

Historically, as an agency funded by both the city and county, PKED has held and disbursed funds for various joint projects and initiatives due to the structure of PKED’s funding arrangements (Sustainable Peterborough is an example).

Recent reporting has implied that local councils have been dissatisfied with “PKEDs” recent physician recruitment efforts. As PKED moves through this difficult transition, it is important to clarify that PKED was not “responsible” for recent physician recruitment efforts. Further background and clarification for physician recruitment is outlined below:

Background:

• In 2021, County and City Councils committed to a regional approach to physician recruitment and created a Peterborough Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee (PPRRC) to help govern and direct the efforts of attracting family physicians to the Peterborough Region, beginning in 2022. The PPRRC included physicians, Peterborough Family Health Team representatives, City and County Councilors and CAOs. The PPRRC hired a consultant on contract who reported directly to the PPRRC to perform recruitment activities on their behalf. Because the PPRRC was not a legal entity and was jointly funded, PKED was asked to hold the contract and fulfill the funding obligations of this contract.
• In Q2 of 2023, the PPRRC advised that they would prefer a full-time employee to do this work instead of a consultant. The new approach called for the PPRRC to continue to oversee the governance and strategic planning activities of the recruiter, but because the committee was not a legal entity, there was a need for assistance from an organization that supported both the City and County to host the new recruiter. At that time, as a jointly funded agency of the City and County of Peterborough, PKED fulfilled the requirement of financial hosting to support the new position but was not responsible for the oversight of the recruiter, or the delivery of the work.
• In May 2023, the PPRRC and Peterborough Regional Liaison Committee received a report from the City and County identifying that a staff person from the County would be seconded to perform regional physician recruitment efforts under the direction and oversight of the PPRRC, while the funding would be administered through PKED. This responsibility for budget oversight was added as a line item connected to PKED’s core funding from the City and County of Peterborough in the annual budget approvals.
• The new physician recruiter started in the role in July of 2023.
• In October 2023, the new recruiter (seconded staff person) and the Chair of the PPRRC made an initial presentation to City council (supported by PKED’s President & CEO for fiscal responsibility purposes), which was received by council with dissatisfaction. During this reporting period, it was not made clear to councils that the PPRRC was directing this work, and that the funds were separate from the funding provided by the City and County to deliver core economic development and tourism services for the region.
• The lack of clarity around the funding arrangement with PKED set off a series of inaccurate media coverages which implied there was dissatisfaction with “PKED’s physician recruitment efforts”. At that time, City Council direction was to pause funding until such time that a different plan for recruitment was supported by City Council. Due to the regional nature of this work, this also set off a series of directives by County Council to seek alternative options for physician recruitment, which ultimately resulted in the hiring of a county-specific physician recruiter.
• Given that PKED was only responsible for flowing dollars for this effort to the seconded employee but not responsible for the work as part of PKED’s ongoing responsibilities to the City and County of Peterborough; the pause in funding would have compromised the delivery of economic development and tourism activities due to the need to retain that employee while a new plan was formed. PKED asked to be relieved of the financial responsibilities of the family physician recruitment position to ensure responsible and prudent financial management while an alternative was being considered.
• The rhetoric that suggests that PKED “Opted to quit the physician recruitment role” as reported by local media is misrepresented. PKED had no alternative but to be relieved of this responsibility to ensure that existing economic development, tourism and small business programs and services were not compromised.