Issue: Tradex Tender

Photo: The Tradex trade and exhibition centre. Source: Tourism Abbotsford Society.

Abbotsford 2022 election: Outlined below is an opinion letter I emailed to mayoral and councillor candidates at 8:00 am local time, Thursday, October 13, 2022.

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Issue: Tradex Tender - A Disruptive, Non-Mandated Disingenuous Exercise (Opinion)

Dear Candidates for Mayor and Council:

When our tourism sector needed stability in spring 2021 with vaccines on the horizon, the City of Abbotsford (COA) initiated, in my opinion, a disruptive, non-mandated disingenuous exercise based on incomplete information to fix a non-issue. In March 2021, without industry consultation, the COA put on the public record it was seeking proposals for Tradex, which Tourism Abbotsford Society had managed (TAS) since the COA acquired the facility in 2003 from PavCo, a provincial crown corporation.

Without a guarantee Tradex would remain an event facility, the COA's decision added disruption during an uncertain and financially troubling time for our tourism sector.

The COA's on-the-record statements regarding facts and figures seemed to change from spring 2021 through February 2022. These statements were not substantiated with receipts, indicating, in my view, a poorly thought-out policy decision for a critical community asset.

Below are links to a literature review, my unsubmitted opinion letter to The Abbotsford News Editor and my working estimates. While conducting my investigative research, the COA announced a new operator for Tradex, making my opinion piece and research a moot point.

I do not want poor COA policy decisions to continue. Let's work together to move Abbotsford Forward.

Ross F. Brown


Literature review - Tradex Tender

Opinion: Draft Letter to the Abbotsford News Editor [Unsubmitted]

Working estimates: My goal was to create a non-conclusive, simple economic demonstration highlighting contributions from PavCo and TAS that exceeded the fluctuating justification figures for the tender stated on the record by COA representatives. To my knowledge, the COA never provided TAS with receipts or statements outlined on the public record. Freedom of information (FOI) requests and historical public records were the sources of my working notes.

Freedom of Information (FOI) File References:
0580-20/2021-266
0580-20/2022-031
0580-20/2022-035


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Keywords: Abbotsford, opinion, letter, Tradex, tender, exhibition, centre, policy